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P9 

DEDICATION  OF  THE  FIRST  EDITION.* 


Dear  Leypoldt: 

You  have  not  forgotten  that  nearly  two  years  ago,  before 
our  business  connection  was  thought  of,  this  identical  trans- 
lation was  '  respectfully  declined '  by  you  with  that  same 
courtesy,  the  exercise  of  which  in  frequent  similar  cases 
each  one  of  us  now  tries  so  hard  to  shove  on  the  other's 
shoulders.  I  hope  that  your  surprise  on  reading  this  note 
of  dedication  will  not  interfere  with  your  forgiving  the  per- 
tinacity with  which,  through  it,  I  still  strive  to  make  the 
book  yours.  ,  H.  H. 

451  Broome  Street,  May  16,  1867. 


*  Published  by  Leypoldt  &  Holt. 


The  Translator  has  placed  a  lew  explanatory  JN  otes  at  the  end 
sf  the  volume.     They  are  referred  to  by  numbers  in  the  text. 


THE    MAN 
WITH    THE     BROKEN    EAIt 


CHAPTER    I. 


WHEREIN  THEY  KILL  THE  EATTED  CALF  TO  CELEBRATE 
THE    RETURN    OF    A    FRUGAL    SOX. 

On  the  18th  of  May,  1859,  M.  Renault,  formerly 
professor  of  physics  and  chemistry,  now  a  landed 
proprietor  at  Fontainebleau,  and  member  of  the 
Municipal  Council  of  that  charming  little  city,  him- 
self carried  to  the  post-office  the  following  letter : — 

"  To  Monsieur  Leon  Renault,  Civil  Engineer,  Berlin,  Prussia. 

(To  be  kept  at  the  Post-Office  till  called  for.) 

"  My  dear  child  : 

"  The  good  news  you  sent  us  from  St.  Petersburg  caused  us  the 
greatest  joy.  Your  poor  mother  had  been  ailing  since  winter,  but 
I  had  not  spoken  to  you  about  it  from  fear  of  making  you  uneasy 
while  so  far  from  home.  As  for  myself,  I  had  not  been  very  well ; 
and  there  was  yet  a  third  person  (guess  the  name  if  you  can ! )  who 
was  languishing  from  not  seeing  you.  But  content  yourself,  my 
dear  Leon :  we  have  been  recuperating  more  and  more  since  the 
"ime  of  your  return  is  almost  fixed.  We  begin  to  believe  that  the 
1 


2  THE   MAN"   WITH 

mines  of  the  Ural  will  not  swallow  up  that  which  is  dearer  to  us 
than  all  the  world.  Thank  God  !  that  fortune  which  you  have  so 
honorably  and  so  quickly  made  will  not  have  cost  your  life,  not 
even  your  health,  since  you  tell  us  you  have  been  growing  fat  off 
there  in  the  desert.  If  you  have  not  finished  up  all  your  business 
out  there,  so  much  the  worse  for  you  :  there  are  three  of  us  who 
have  sworn  that  you  shall  never  go  back  again.  You  will  not  find 
it  hard  to  accede,  for  you  will  be  happy  among  us.  Such,  at  least, 
is  the  opinion  of  Clementine  ....  I  forget  that  I  was  pledged  not 
to  name  her.  Master  Bonnivet,  our  excellent  neighbor,  has  not 
rested  content  with  investing  your  funds  in  a  good  mortgage,  but 
has  also  drawn  up,  in  his  leisure  moments,  a  most  edifying  little 
indenture,  which  now  lacks  nothing  but  your  signature.  Our 
worthy  mayor  has  ordered,  on  your  account,  a.  new  official  scarf, 
which  is  on  the  way  from  Paris.  You  will  have  the  first  benefit  of  it. 
Your  apartment  (which  will  soon  belong  to  a  plural  '  you ')  is  elegant, 
in  proportion  to  your  present  fortune.  You  are  to  occupy  .  .  .  . ; 
but  the  house  has  changed  so  in  three  years,  that  my  description 
would  be  incomprehensible  to  you.  M.  Audret,  the  architect  of 
the  imperial  chateau,  directed  the  work.  He  actually  wanted  to 
construct  me  a  laboratory  worthy  of  Thenard  or  Duprez.  I  ear- 
nestly protested  against  it,  and  said  that  I  was  not  yet  worthy  of  one, 
as  my  celebrated  work  on  the  Condensation  of  Gases  had  only 
reached  the  fourth  chapter.  But  as  your  mother  was  in  collusion 
with  the  old  scamp  of  a  friend,  it  has  turned  out  that  science  has 
henceforth  a  temple  in  our  house — a  regular  sorcerer's  den,  ac- 
cording to  the  picturesque  expression  of  your  old  Gothon  :  it  lacks 
nothing,  not  even  a  four-horse-power  steam  engine.  Alas  !  what 
can  I  do  with  it  ?  I  am  confident,  nevertheless,  that  the  expen- 
diture will  n, ,t  be  altogether  lost  to  the  world.  You  are  not  going 
to  deep  upon  your  laurels.  Oh,  if  I  had  only  had  your  fortune 
when  I  had  your  youth  !  I  would  have  dedicated  my  days  to  pure 
science,  msteud  of  losing  the  best  part  of  them  among  those  poor 
young  men  who  got  nothing  from  my  lectures  but  an  opportunity 
to    read    Paul    de    Kock.      I     would    have   been    ambitious !— I 


THE   BROKEN   EAB.  3 

would  have  striken  to  connect  my  name  with  the  discovery  of  some 
great  general  law,  or  at  least  with  the  invention  of  some  very  useful 
apparatus.  It  is  too  late  now ;  my  eyes  are  worn  out,  and  the 
brain  itself  refuses  to  work.  Take  your  turn,  my  boy !  You  are 
not  yet  twenty-six,  the  Ural  mines  have  given  you  the  wherewithal 
to  live  at  ease,  and,  for  yourself  alone,  you  have  no  further  wants  to 
satisfy ;  the  time  has  come  to  work  for  humanity.  That  you  will 
do  so,  is  the  strongest  wish  and  dearest  hope  of  your  doting  old 
father,  who  loves  you  and  who  waits  for  you  with  open  arms. 

"  J.  Renault. 
"  P.  S.  According  to  my  calculations,  this  letter  ought  to  reach 
Berlin  two  or  three  days  before  you.  You  have  been  already 
informed  by  the  papers  of  the  7th  inst.  of  the  death  of  the  illustrious 
Humboldt.  It  is  a  cause  of  mourning  to  science  and  to  humanity. 
I  have  had  the  honor  of  writing  to  that  great  man  several  times  in 
my  life,  and  he  once  deigned  to  reply,  in  a  letter  which  I  piously 
cherish.  If  you  happen  to  have  an  opportunity  to  buy  some 
personal  souvenir  of  him,  a  bit  of  his  handwriting  or  some  fragment 
of  his  collections,  you  will  bring  me  a  real  pleasure." 

A  month  after  the  departure  of  this  letter,  the  son 
so  eagerly  looked  for  returned  to  the  paternal 
mansion.  M.  and  Mme.  Renault,  who  went  to  meet 
him  at  the  depot,  found  him  taller,  stouter,  and  better- 
looking  in  every  way.  In  fact,  he  was  no  longer 
merely  a  remarkable  boy,  but  a  man  of  good  and 
pleasing  proportions.  Leon  Renault  was  of  medium 
height,  light  hair  and  complexion,  plump  and  well 
made.  His  large  blue  eyes,  sweet  voice,  and  silken 
beard  indicated  a  nature  sensitive  rather  than  pow- 
erful. A  very  white,  round,  and  almost  feminine 
neck  contrasted  singularly  with  a  face  bronzed  by 
exposure.     His  teeth  were  beautiful,  very  delicate,  a 


THE    MAN    WITH 


little  inclined  backward,  and  very  evenly  shaped. 
When  he  pulled  off  his  gloves,  he  displayed  two  small 
and  rather  pudgey  hands,  quite  firm  and  yet  pleas- 
antly soft,  neither  hot  nor  cold,  nor  dry  nor  damp, 
but  agreeable  to  the  touch  and  cared-for  to  perfection. 

As  he  was,  his  father  and  mother  would  not  have 
exchanged  him  for  the  Apollo  Belvedere.  They 
embraced  him  rapturously,  overwhelming  him  with  a 
thousand  questions,  most  of  which  he,  of  course,  failed 
to  answer.  Some  old  friends  of  the  family,  a  doctor, 
an  architect,  and  a  notary,  had  run  to  the  depot  with 
the  good  old  people ;  each  one  of  them  in  turn  gave 
him  a  hug,  and  asked  him  if  he  was  well,  and  if  he 
had  had  a  pleasant  journey.  He  listened  patiently 
and  even  joyfully  to  this  common-place  music 
whose  words  did  not  signify  much,  but  whose  melody 
went  to  the  heart  because  it  came  from  the  heart. 

They  had  been  there  a  good  quarter  of  an  hour, 
the  train  had  gone  puffing  on  its  way,  the  omnibuses 
of  the  various  hotels  had  started  one  after  another  at 
a  good  trot  up  the  street  leading  to  the  city,  and  the 
June  sun  seemed  to  enjoy  lighting  up  this  happy 
group  of  excellent  people.  But  Madame  Renault 
cried  out  all  at  once  that  the  poor  child  must  be 
dying  of  hunger,  and  that  it  was  barbarous  to  keep 
him  waiting  for  his  dinner  any  longer.  There  was 
no  use  in  his  protesting  that  he  had  breakfasted  at 
Paris,  and  that  the  voice  of  hunger  appealed  to  him 
less  strongly  (ban  that  of  joy.  They  all  got  into  two 
!,    the   aon   beside   his    mother,    the   father 


'    THE   BROKEN   EAB.  5 

opposite,  as  if  he  could  not  keep  his  eyes  off  his  boy. 
A  wagon  came  behind  with  the  trunks,  long  boxes, 
chests,  and  the  rest  of  the  traveller's  baggage.  At  tha 
entrance  of  the  town,  the  hackmen  cracked  their 
whips,  the  baggage-men  followed  the  example,  and 
this  cheerful  clatter  drew  the  people  to  their  doors 
and  woke  up  for  an  instant  the  quietude  of  the 
streets.  Madame  Renault  threw  her  glances  right 
and  left,  searching  out  the  spectators  of  her  triumph, 
and  saluting  with  most  cordial  affability  people  she 
hardly  knew  at  all.  And  more  than  one  mother 
saluted  her,  too,  without  knowing  her;  for  there  is 
no  mother  indifferent  to  such  kinds  of  happiness,  and, 
moreover,  Leon's  family  was  liked  by  everybody. 
And  the  neighbors,  meeting  each  other,  said  with  a 
satisfaction  free  from  jealousy: 

"That  is  Renault's  son,  who  has  been  at  work 
three  years  in  the  Russian  mines,  and  now  has  come 
to  share  his  fortune  with  his  old  parents.  " 

Leon  also  noticed  several  familiar  faces,  but  not 
all  that  he  wished  to  see.  For  he  bent  over  an 
instant  to  his  mother's  ear,  saying :  "  And  Clemen- 
tine ? "  This  word  was  pronounced  so  low  and  so 
close  that  M.  Renault  himself  could  not  tell  whether 
it  was  a  word  or  a  kiss.  The  good  lady  smiled  ten- 
derlv,  and  answered  but  a  sing-le  word :  "  Patience  ! " 
As  if  patience  were  a  virtue  very  common  among 
lovers ! 

The  door  of  the  house  was  wide  open,  and  old 
Gothon  was  standing  on  the  threshold.     She  raised 


ft  THE  MAX   WITH 

her  arms  toward  heaven  and  cried  like  a  booby,  for 
she  had  known  Leon  since  he  was  not  much  higher 
than  her  wash-tub.  There  was  now  another  formi- 
dable hugging  on  the  upper  step,  between  the  good 
old  servant  and  her  vouno-  master.  After  a  reason- 
able  interval,  the  friends  of  M.  Renault  prepared  to 
leave,  but  it  was  wasted  pains;  for  they  were  as- 
sured that  their  places  at  table  had  already  been 
prepared.  And  when  all  save  the  invisible  Clemen- 
tine were  reassembled  in  the  parlor,  the  great  round- 
backed  chairs  held  out  their  arms  to  the  scion  of  the 
house  of  Renault;  the  old  mirror  on  the  mantle 
delighted  to  reflect  his  image ;  the  great  chandelier 
chimed  a  little  song  of  welcome  with  its  crystal 
pendants,  and  the  mandarins  on  the  etagere  shook 
their  heads  in  sign  of  welcome,  as  if  they  were 
orthodox  penates  instead  of  strangers  and  pagans. 
No  one  can  tell  why  kisses  and  tears  began  to  rain 
down  again,  but  it  certainly  did  seem  as  if  he  had 
once  more  just  returned. 

"Soup!"     Cried  Gothon. 

Madame  Renault  took  the  arm  of  her  son,  con- 
trary to  all  the  laws  of  etiquette,  and  without  even 
apologizing  to  the  honored  guests  present.  She 
scarcely  excused  herself,  even,  for  helping  the  son 
before  the  company.  Leon  let  her  have  her  own 
way,  and  took  it  all  smilingly  :  there  was  not  a  guest 
then-  who  was  not  ready  to  upset  his  soup  over  his 
waistcoat  rather  than  ta^te  it  before  Leon. 

" Mother !"  cried  Leon,  spoon  in  hand,  "this  is 


THE    BEOKEX    EAE.  1 

the  first  time  for  three  years  that  I've  tasted  good 
soup."  Madame  Renault  felt  herself  blush  with 
satisfaction,  and  Gothon  was  so  overcome  that  she 
dropped  a  plate.  Both  fancied  that  possibly  he  had 
spoken  to  please  their  self-conceit ;  but  nevertheless 
he  spoke  truly.  There  are  two  things  in  this  world 
which  a  man  does  not  often  find  away  from  home : 
the  first  is  good  soup ;  the  second  is  disinterested  love. 

If  I  should  attempt  here  an  accurate  enumeration 
of  all  the  dishes  that  appeared  on  the  table,  there 
would  not  be  one  of  my  readers  whose  mouth  would 
not  water.  I  believe,  indeed,  that  more  than  one 
delicate  lady  would  be  in  danger  of  an  attack  of  in- 
digestion. Suppose,  if  you  please,  that  such  a  list 
would  reach  nearly  to  the  end  of  the  volume,  leaving 
me  but  a  single  page  on  which  to  write  the  marvel- 
lous history  of  Fougas.  Therefore  I  forthwith  re- 
turn to  the  parlor,  where   coffee   is  already  served. 

Leon  took  scarcely  half  of  his  cup:  but  do  not  let 
that  lead  you  to  infer  that  the  coffee  was  too  hot,  or 
too  cold,  or  too  sweet.  Nothing  in  the  world  Avould 
have  prevented  his  drinking  it  to  the  last  drop,  if  a 
knock  at  the  street-door  had  not  stopped  it  just  op- 
posite his  heart. 

The  minute  which  followed  appeared  to  him  in- 
terminable. Never  in  his  travels  had  he  encountered 
such  a  long  minute.  But  at  length  Clementine  ap- 
peared, preceded  by  the  worthy  Mile.  Virginie  Sam- 
bucco,  her  aunt  ;  and  the  mandarins  who  smiled  on 
the  etagere  heard  the  sound  of  three  kisses. 


b  THE    MAN"   WITH 

Wherefore  three  ?  The  superficial  reader,  who 
pretends  to  foresee  things  before  they  are  written,  has 
already  found  a  very  probable  explanation.  "  Of 
course,"  says  he,  "  Leon  was  too  respectful  to  embrace 
the  dignified  Mile.  Sambucco  more  than  once,  »but 
when  he  came  to  Clementine,  who  was  soon  to  be- 
come his  wife,  he  very  properly  doubled  the  dose." 
Now  sir,  that  is  what  I  call  a  premature  judgment  ! 
The  first  kiss  fell  from  the  mouth  of  Leon  upon  the 
cheek  of  Mile.  Sambucco ;  the  second  was  applied  by 
the  lips  of  Mile.  Sambucco  to  the  right  cheek  of 
Leon  ;  the  third  was,  iu  fact,  an  accident  that  plunged 
two  young  hearts  into  profound  consternation. 

Leon,  who  was  very  much  in  love  with  his  be- 
trothed, rushed  to  her  blindly,  uncertain  whether  he 
would  kiss  her  right  cheek  or  her  left,  but  determined 
not  to  put  off  too  long  a  pleasure  which  he  had  been 
promising  himself  ever  since  the  spring  of  1856. 
Clementine  did  not  dream  of  defending  herself,  but 
was  fully  prepared  to  apply  her  pretty  rosy  lips  to 
Leon's  right  cheek  or  his  left,  indifferently.  The 
precipitation  of  the  two  young  people  brought  it 
about  that  neither  Clementine's  cheeks  nor  Leon's 
received  the  offering  intended  for  them.  And  the 
mandarins  on  the  etagere,  who  fully  expected  to 
hear  two  kisses,  heard  but  one.  And  Leon  was  con- 
founded, and  Clementine  blushed  up  to  her  ears,  and 
the  two  lovers  retreated  a  step,  intently  regarding 
the  roses  of  the  carpet  which  will  remain  eternally 
graven  upon  their  memories. 


THE   BROKEN   EAK.  9 

In  the  eyes  of  Leon  Renault,  Clementine  was  the 
most  beautiful  creature  in  the  world.  He  had  loved 
her  for  little  more  than  three  years,  and  it  was  some- 
what on  her  account  that  he  had  taken  the  journey 
to  Russia.  In  1856  she  was  too  young  to  marry, 
and  too  rich  for  an  engineer  with  a  salary  of  2,400 
francs  to  properly  make  pretentions  to  her  hand. 
Leon,  who  was  a  good  mathematician,  proposed  to 
himself  the  following  problem :  "  Given — one  young 
girl,  fifteen  and  a  half  years  old,  with  an  income  of 
8,000  francs,  and  threatened  with  the  inheritance 
from  Mile.  Sambucco  of,  say  200,000  more  : — to  obtain 
a  fortune  at  least  equal  to  hers  within  such  a  period 
as  will  give  her  time  enough  to  grow  up,  without 
leaving;  her  time  enough  to  become  an  old  maid." 
He  had  found  the  solution  in  the  Ural  mines. 

During  three  long  years,  he  had  indirectly  corre- 
sponded with  the  beloved  of  his  heart.  All  the  let- 
ters which  he  wrote  to  his  father  or  mother,  passed 
into  the  hands  of  Mile.  Sambucco,  who  did  not  keep 
them  from  Clementine.  Sometimes,  indeed,  they 
were  read  aloud  in  the  family,  and  M.  Renault  was 
never  obliged  to  omit  a  phrase,  for  Leon  never  wrote 
anything  which  a  young  girl  should  not  hear.  The 
aunt  and  the  niece  had  no  other  distractions ;  they 
lived  retired  in  a  little  house  at  the  end  of  a  pretty 
garden,  and  received  no  one  but  old  friends.  Clem- 
entine, therefore,  deserved  but  little  credit  for  keep- 
in  her  heart  for  Leon.  With  the  exception  of  a  big 
colonel  of  cuirassiers,  who  sometimes  followed  her  in 
1* 


10  THE    MAN    WITH   THE    BROKEN   EAR. 

her  walks,  no  man  had  ever  made  any  demonstra- 
tions toward  her. 

She  was  very  pretty  withal,  and  not  so  merely  to 
the  eyes  of  her  lover,  or  of  the  Renault  family,  or  of 
the  little  city  where  she  lived.  Provincial  towns 
are  apt  to  be  easily  satisfied.  They  give  the  reputa- 
tion of  being  a  pretty  woman  or  a  great  man,  cheap- 
ly ;  especially  when  they  are  not  rich  enough  in  such 
commodities  to  show  themselves  over  particular. 
In  capitals,  however,  people  claim  to  admire 
nothing  but  absolute  merit.  I  have  heard  the  mayor 
of  a  village  say,  with  a  certain  pride  :  "  Admit  now, 
that  my  servant  Catherine  is  right  pretty,  for  a  vil- 
lage of  six  hundred  people!"  Clementine  was 
pretty  enough  to  be  admired  in  a  city  of  eight  hun- 
dred thousand.  Fancy  to  yourself  a  little  blonde 
Creole,  with  black  eyes,  creamy  complexion  and  daz- 
zling teeth.  Her  figure  was  round  and  supple  as  a 
twig,  and  was  finished  off  with  dainty  hands  and 
pretty  Andalusian  feet,  arched  and  beautifully 
rounded.  All  her  glances  were  smiles,  and  all 
her  movements  caresses.  Add  to  this,  that  she 
was  neither  a  fool  nor  a  prude,  nor  even  an  ignora- 
mus like  girls  brought  up  in  convents.  Her 
education,  which  was  begun  by  her  mother,  had 
been  completed  by  two  or  three  respectable  old  pro- 
fessors selected  by  M.  Renault,  who  was  her  guard- 
ian. She  bad  a  sound  heart,  and  a  quick  mind. 
But  I  may  reasonably  ask  myself  why  I  have  so 
much  to  say  about  her,  for  she  is  still  living ;  and, 
thank  God !  not  one  of  her  perfections  has  departed 


CHAPTER  n. 

UNPACKING   BY   CANDLE-IJGHT. 

About  ten  o'clock  in  the  evening,  Mile.  Virginie 
Sambucco  said  it  was  time  to  think  of  going 
home:  the  ladies  lived  with  monastic  regularity. 
Leon  protested;  but  Clementine  obeyed,  though  not 
without  pouting  a  little.  Already  the  parlor  door 
was  open,  and  the  old  lady  had  taken  her  hood 
in  the  hall,  when  the  engineer,  suddenly  struck  wTith 
an  idea,  exclaimed: 

"You  surely  won't  go  without  helping  me  to 
open  my  trunks !  I  demand  it  of  you  as  a  favor, 
my  good  Mademoiselle  Sambucco ! " 

The  respectable  lady  paused :  custom  urged  her 
to  go ;  kindness  inclined  her  to  stay ;  an  atom  of 
curiosity  swayed  the  balance. 

"I'm  so  glad!"  cried  Clementine,  replacing  her 
aunt's  hood  on  the  rack. 

Mme.  Renault  did  not  yet  know  where  they  had 
put  Leon's  baggage.  Gothon  came  to  say  that 
everything  had  been  thrown  pell-mell  into  the  sor- 
ce**r's  den,  to  remain  there  until  Monsieur  should 


12  THE   MAN   WITH 

point  out  what  lie  wanted  taken  to  his  own  room 
The  whole  company,  armed  with  lamps  and  can 
dies,  betook  themselves  to  a  vast  room  on  the  ground 
floor,  where  furnaces,  retorts,  philosophical  instru- 
ments, boxes,  trunks,  clothes  bags,  hat  boxes  and 
the  famous  steam-engine,  formed  a  confused  and  en- 
tertaining spectacle.  The  light  played  about  this 
interior,  as  it  appears  to  in  certain  pictures  of  the 
Dutch  school.  It  glanced  upon  the  great  yellow 
cylinders  of  the  electric  machine,  struck  upon 
the  long  glass  bottles,  rebounded  from  two  silver  re- 
flectors, and  rested,  in  passing,  upon  a  magnificent 
Fortin  barometer.  The  Renaults  and  their  friends, 
grouped  in  the  midst  of  the  boxes — some  sitting, 
some  standing,  one  holding  a  lamp,  another  a  can- 
dle— detracted  nothing  from  the  picturesqueness 
of  the  scene. 

Leon,  with  a  bunch  of  little  keys,  opened  the 
boxes  one  after  another.  Clementine  was  seated 
opposite  him  on  a  great  oblong  box,  and  watched 
him  with  all  her  eyes,  more  from  aifection  than  curi- 
osity. They  began  by  setting  to  one  side  two  enor- 
mous square  boxes  which  contained  nothing  but 
mineralogical  specimens.  After  this  they  passed  in 
review  the  riches  of  all  kinds  which  the  eno-ineer  had 
crowded  anions;  his  linen  and  clothino-. 

A  pleasant" odor  of  Russia  leather,  tea  from  the 
caravans,  Levant  tobacco,  and  attar  of  roses  soon 
permeated  the  laboratory.  Leon  brought  forth 
a    little-    at    a    time,     as    is     the     custom    of    alJ 


THE    BEOKEX    EAR.  13 

rich  travellers  who;  on  leaving  home,  left  a  family 
and  good  stock  of  friends  behind.  He  exhibited, 
in  turn,  fabrics  of  the  Asiatic  looms,  narghiles  of 
embossed  silver  from  Persia,  boxes  of  tea,  sherbets 
flavored  with  rose,  precious  extracts,  golden  webs 
from  Tarjok,  antique  armor,  a  service  of  frosted 
silver  of  Toula  make,  jewelry  mounted  in  the  Rus- 
sian style,  Caucasian  bracelets,  necklaces  of  milky 
amber,  and  a  leather  sack  full  of  turquoises  such  as 
they  sell  at  the  fair  of  JSTijni  Novgorod.  Each  object 
passed  from  hand  to  hand  amid  questions,  explana- 
tions, and  interjections  of  all  kinds.  All  the  friends 
present  received  the  gifts  intended  for  them.  There 
was  a  concert  of  polite  refusals,  friendly  urgings, 
and  '  thank-yous '  in  all  sorts  of  voices.  It  is  unneces- 
sary to  say  that  much  the  greater  share  fell  to  the 
lot  of  Clementine;  but  she  did  not  wait  to  be  urged 
to  accept  them,  for,  in  the  existing  state  of  affairs, 
all  these  pretty  things  would  be  but  as  a  part  of  the 
wedding  gifts — not  going  out  of  the  family. 

Leon  had  brought  his  father  an  exceedingly  hand- 
some dressing  gown  of  a  cloth  embroidered  with 
gold,  some  antiquarian  books  found  in  Moscow,  a 
pretty  picture  by  Greuze,  which  had  been  stuck  out 
of  the  way,  by  the  luckiest  of  accidents,  in  a  mean 
shop  at  Gastinitvor;  two  magnificent  specimens  of 
rock-crystal,  and  a  cane  that  had  belonged  to  Hum- 
boldt. "  You  see,"  said  he  to  M.  Renault,  on  hand- 
ing him  this  historic  staff,  "that  the  postscript  of 
your  last  letter  did  not  fall  overboard." 


14  THE    MAX    WITH 

The  old  professor  received  the  present  with  visi- 
ble emotion. 

"  I  will  never  use  it,"  said  he  to  his  son.  "  The 
Napoleon  of  science  has  held  it  in  his  hand :  what 
would  one  think  if  an  old  sergeant  like  me  should 
permit  himself  to  carry  it  in  his  walks  in  the  woods? 
And  the  collections?  Were  you  not  able  to  buy 
anything  from  them?     Did  they  sell  very  high  ?" 

'•They  were  not  sold,"  answered  Leon.  "All 
were  placed  in  the  National  Museum  at  Berlin.  But 
in  my  eagerness  to  satisfy  you,  I  made  a  thief  of 
myself  in  a  strange  way.  The  very  day  of  my 
arrival,  I  told  your  wish  to  a  guide  who  was  show- 
ing me  the  place.  He  told  me  that  a  friend  of  his, 
a  little  Jew  broker  by  the  name  of  Ritter,  wanted 
to  sell  a  very  fine  anatomical  specimen  that  had  be- 
longed to  the  estate.  I  ran  to  the  Jew's,  examined 
the  mummy,  for  such  it  was,  and,  without  any  hag- 
gling, paid  the  price  he  asked.  But  the  next  day,  a 
friend  of  Humboldt,  Professor  Hirtz,  told  me  the 
history  of  this  shred  of  a  man,  which  had  been  lying 
around  the  shop  for  more  than  ten  years,  and  never 
belonged  to  Humboldt  at  all.  Where  the  deuce  has 
Gothon  stowed  it  ?  Ah  !  Mile.  Clementine  is  sitting 
on  it." 

Clementine  attempted  to  rise,  but  Leon  made  her 
keep  seated. 

"  We  have  plenty  of  time,"  said  he,  "  to  take  a 
look  at  the  old  baggage ;  meanwhile  you  can  well 
imagine  that  it  is  not  a  very  cheerful  sight.     This  is 


THE   BROKEN   EAR.  15 

uhe  history  that  good  old  Hirtz  told  me ;  he  prom- 
ised to  send  me,  in  addition,  a  copy  of  a  very  curious 
memoir  on  the  same  subject.  Don't  go  yet,  my 
dear  Mademoiselle  Sambucco ;  I  have  a  little  mili- 
tary and  scientific  romance  for  you.  We  will  look 
at  the  mummy  as  soon  as  I  have  acquainted  you 
with  his  misfortunes." 

"  Aha  !  "  cried  M.  Audret,  the  architect  of  the 
chateau,  "  it's  the  romance  of  the  mummy,  is  it,  that 
you're  going  to  tell  us  ?  Too  late  my  poor  Leon  ! 
Theophile  Gautier  has  gotten  ahead  of  you,  in  the 
supplement  to  the  Mbniteur,  and  all  the  world 
knows  your  Egyptian  history." 

"My  history,"  said  Leon,  "is  no  more  Egyptian 
than  Manon  Lescault.  Our  excellent  doctor  Mar- 
tout,  here,  ought  to  know  the  name  of  professor 
John  Meiser,  of  Dantzic  ;  he  lived  at  the  beginning 
of  this  century,  and  I  think  that  his  last  work  ap- 
peared in  1824  or  1825." 

"In  1823,"  replied  M.  Martout.  "Meiser  is 
one  of  the  scientific  men  who  have  done  Germany 
most  honor.  In  the  midst  of  terrible  wars  which 
drenched  his  country  in  blood,  he  followed  up  the 
researches  of  Leeuwenkoeck,  Baker,  Needham,  Fon- 
tana,  and  Spallanzani,  on  the  revivification  of  animals. 
Our  profession  honors  in  him,  one  of  the  fathers  of 
modern  biology." 

"Heavens  !  What  ugly  big  words  !  "  cried  Mile. 
Sambucco.  "Is  it  decent  to  keep  people  till  thb 
time  of  night,  to  make  them  listen  to  Dutch." 


16       THE  MAN  WITH  THE  BROKEN  EAR. 

"  Don't  listen  to  the  big  words,  dear  little  auntey 
Save  yourself  for  the  romance,  since  there  is  one.' 

"A  terrible  one  !  "  said  Leon.  "  Mile.  Clementine 
is  seated  over  a  human  victim,  sacrificed  to  science 
by  professor  Meiser." 

Clementine  instantly  got  up.  Her  fiance  handed 
her  a  chair,  and  seated  himself  in  the  place  she  had 
just  left.  The  listeners,  fearing  that  Leon's  romance 
might  be  in  several  volumes,  took  their  places 
around  him,  some  on  boxes,  some  on  chairs. 


CHAPTER  HI. 

THE  CRIME  OF  THE    LEARNED  PROFESSOR  MEISER. 

"  Ladies,"  said  Leon,  "  Professor  Meiser  was  no 
vulsrar  malefactor,  but  a  maD  devoted  to  science  and 
humanity.  If  he  killed  the  French  colonel  who  at 
this  moment  reposes  beneath  my  coat  tails,  it  was 
for  the  sake  of  saving  his  life,  as  well  as  of  throwing 
light  on  a  question  of  the  deepest  interest,  even  to 
each  one  of  you. 

"  The  duration  of  our  existence  is  very  much  too 
brief.  That  is  a  fact  which  no  man  can  contradict. 
\Ve  know  that  in  a  hundred  years,  not  one  of 
the  nine  or  ten  persons  assembled  in  this  house 
will  be  living  on  the  face  of  the  earth.  Is  not  this  a 
deplorable  fact  ?  " 

Mile.  Sambucco  heaved  a  heavy  sigh,  and  Leon 
continued  : 

"Alas!  Mademoiselle,  like  you  I  have  sighed 
many  a  time  at  the  contemplation  of  this  dire  neces- 
sity. You  have  a  niece,  the  most  beautiful  and  the 
most  adorable  of  all  nieces,  and  the  sight  of  her 
charming  face  gladdens  your  heart.  But  you  yearn 
for  something  more ;  you  will  not  be  satisfied  until 
you  have  seen   your  little   grand-nephews  trotting 


18  THE   MAJST   WITH 

around.  You  will  see  them  I  earnestly  believe 
But  will  you  see  their  children  ?  It  is  doubtful. 
Their  grand-children  ?  Impossible !  In  regard  to 
the  tenth,  twentieth,  thirtieth  generation,  it  is  use- 
less even  to  dream. 

"  One  will  dream  of  it,  nevertheless,  and  perhaps 
there  is  no  man  who  has  not  said  to  himself  at  least 
once  in  his  life :  '  If  I  could  but  come  to  life  again 
in  a  couple  of  centuries  ! '  One  would  wish  to  re- 
turn to  earth  to  seek  news  of  his  family  ;  another,  of 
his  dynasty.  A  philosopher  is  anxious  to  know  if 
the  ideas  that  he  has  planted  will  have  borne  fruit; 
a  politician,  if  his  party  will  have  obtained  the 
upper  hand ;  a  miser,  if  his  heirs  will  not  have  dissi- 
pated the  fortune  he  has  made  ;  a  mere  land-holder, 
if  the  trees  in  his  garden  will  have  grown  tall- 
No  one  is  indifferent  to  the  future  destinies  of  this 
world,  which  we  gallop  through  in  a  few  years,  never 
to  return  to  it  again.  Who  has  not  envied  the  lot 
of  Epimenides,  who  went  to  sleep  in  a  cave,  and, 
on  reopening  his  eyes,  perceived  that  the  world  had 
grown  old  ?  Who  has  not  dreamed,  on  his  own  ac- 
count, of  the  marvellous  adventure  of  the  sleeping 
Beauty  in  the  wood  ? 

"  Well,  ladies,  Professor  Meiser,  one  of  the  least 
visionary  men  of  the  age,  was  persuaded  that  science 
could  put  a  living  being  to  sleep  and  wake  him  up 
again  at  the  end  of  an  infinite  number  of  years  — 
arrest  all  the  functions  of  the  system,  suspend  life 
itself,  protect  an  individual   against  the   action  of 


THE    BROKEN    EAR.  IS 

time  for  a  century  or  two,  and  afterwards  resusci- 
tate him." 

"  He  was  a  fool  then !  "  cried  Madame  Re- 
nault. 

"  I  wouldn't  swear  it.  But  he  had  his  own  ideas 
touching  the  main-spring  which  moves  a  living  organ- 
ism. Do  you  remember,  good  mother  mine,  the  im- 
pression you  experienced  as  a  little  girl,  when  some 
one  first  showed  you  the  inside  of  a  watch  in  motion  ? 
You  were  satisfied  that  there  was  a  restless  little  an- 
imal inside  the  case,  who  worked  twenty-four  hours 
a  day  at  turning  the  hands.  If  the  hands  stopped 
going,  you  said :  '  It  is  because  the  little  animal  is 
dead.'    Yet  possibly  he  was  only  asleep. 

"  It  has  since  been  explained  to  you  that  a 
watch  contains  an  assemblage  of  parts  well  fitted 
to  each  other  and  kept  well  oiled,  which,  being 
wound,  can  be  considered  to  move  spontane- 
ously in  a  perfect  correspondence.  If  a  spring  be- 
come broken,  if  a  bit  of  the  wheel  work  be  in- 
jured, or  if  a  grain  of  sand  insinuate  itself  be- 
tween two  of  the  parts,  the  watch  stops,  and  the 
children  say  rightly :  '  The  little  animal  is  dead.' 
But  suppose  a  sound  watch,  well  made,  right  in 
every  particular,  and  stopped  because  the  machinery 
would  not  run  from  lack  of  oil ;  the  little  animal 
is  not  dead ;  nothing  but  a  little  oil  is  needed  to 
wake  him  up. 

"  Here  is  a  first-rate  chronometer,  made  in  Lon- 
don.    It   runs   fifteen   days  without  being  wound 


20  THE   MAN   WITH 

I  gave  it  a  turn  of  the  key  yesterday :  it  has,  then, 
thirteen  days  to  run.  If  I  throw  it  on  the  ground, 
or  if  I  break  the  main-spring,  all  is  over.  I  will 
have  killed  the  little  animal.  But  suppose  that, 
without  damaging  anything,  I  find  means  to  with- 
draw or  dry  up  the  fine  oil  which  now  enables  the 
parts  to  slip  upon  one  another :  will  the  little  an- 
imal be  dead  ?  No  !  It  will  be  asleep.  And  the 
proof  is  that  I  can  lay  my  watch  in  a  drawer, 
keep  it  there  twenty-five  years,  and  if,  after  a  quar- 
ter of  a  century,  I  put  a  drop  of  oil  on  it,  the 
parts  will  begin  to  move  again.  All  that  time 
would  have  passed  without  waking  up  the  little 
sleeping  animal.  It  will  still  have  thirteen  days  to 
go,  after  the  time  when  it  starts  again. 

"  All  living  beings,  according  to  the  opinion  of 
Professor  Meiser,  are  watches,  or  organisms  which 
move,  breathe,  nourish  themselves,  and  reproduce 
themselves  as  long:  as  their  organs  are  intact  and 
properly  oiled.  The  oil  of  the  watch  is  represented 
in  the  animal  by  an  enormous  quantity  of  water.  In 
man,  for  example,  water  provides  about  four-fifths  of 
the  whole  weight.  Given — a  colonel  weighing  a 
hundred  and  fifty  pounds,  there  are  thirty  pounds  of 
colonel  and  a  hundred  and  twenty  pounds,  or  about 
sixty  quarts,  of  water.  This  is  a  fact  proven  by 
numerous  experiments.  I  say  a  colonel  just  as  I 
would  say  a  king;  all  men  are  equal  when  submitted 
to  analysis. 

"  Professor  Meiser  was  satisfied,  as  are  all  physio- 


THE    BROKEN    EAR.  21 

logists,  that  to  break  a  colonel's  head,  or  to  make  a 
hole  in  his  heart,  or  to  cut  his  spinal  column  in  two, 
is  to  kill  the  little  animal ;  because  the  brain,  the 
heart,  the  spinal  marrow  are  the  indispensable  springs, 
without  which  the  machine  cannot  go.  But  lie 
thought  too,  that  in  removing  sixty  quarts  of  water 
from  a  living  person,  one  merely  puts  the  little  an- 
imal to  sleep  without  killing  him — that  a  colonel 
carefully  dried  up,  can  remain  preserved  a  hundred 
years,  and  then  return  to  life  whenever  any  one  will 
replace  in  him  the  drop  of  oil,  or  rather  the  sixty 
quarts  of  water,  without-  which  the  human  machine 
cannot  begin  moving  again. 

"  This  opinion,  which  may  appear  inadmissible  to 
you  and  to  me  too,  but  which  is  not  absolutely  re- 
jected by  our  friend  Doctor  Martout,  rests  upon  a  se- 
ries of  reliable  observations  which  the  merest  tyro 
can  verify  to  day.  There  are  animals  which  can  be 
resuscitated  :  nothing  is  more  certain  or  better  prov- 
en. Herr  Meiser,  like  the  Abbe  Spallanzani  and 
many  others,  collected  from  the  gutter  of  his  roof 
some  little  dried  worms  which  were  brittle  as  glass, 
and  restored  life  to  them  by  soaking  them  in  water. 
The  capacity  of  thus  returning  to  life,  is  not  the 
privilege  of  a  single  species :  its  existence  has  been 
satisfactorily  established  in  numerous  and  various  an- 
imals. The  genus  Volvox — the  little  worms  or  worm- 
lets  in  vinegar,  mud,  spoiled  paste,  or  grain-smut  ; 
the  Rotifera — a  kind  of  little  shell-fish  protected  by  a 
carapace,    provided    with   a  good    digestive   appa 


22  THE    MAN    WITH 

ratus,  of  separate  sexes,  Laving  a  nervous  system 
with  a  distinct  brain,  having  either  one  or  two  eyes, 
according  to  the  genus,  a  crystalline  lens,  and  an  op- 
tic nerve;  the  Tardigrades — which  are  little  spiders 
with  six  or  eight  legs,  separate  sexes,  regular  diges- 
tive apparatus,  a  mouth,  two  eyes,  a  very  well  de- 
fined nervous  system,  and  a  very  well  developed 
muscular  system ; — all  these  die  and  revive  ten  or  fif- 
teen times  consecutively,  at  the  will  of  the  natural- 
ist. One  dries  up  a  rotifer :  good  night  to  him  ; 
somebody  soaks  him  a  little,  and  he  wakes  up  to  bid 
you  good  day.  All  depends  upon  taking  great  care 
while  he  is  dry.  You  understand  that  if  any  one 
should  merely  break  his  head,  no  drop  of  water,  nor 
river,  nor  ocean  could  restore  him. 

"  The  marvellous  thing  is,  that  an  animal  which 
cannot  live  more  than  a  year,  like  the  minute  worm 
in  grain-smut,  can  lie  by  twenty-four  years  without 
dying,  if  one  has  taken  the  precaution  of  desiccating 
him. 

"  Needham  collected  a  lot  of  them  in  1743  ;  he 
presented  them  to  Martin  Folkes,  who  gave  them  tc 
Baker,  and  these  interesting  creatures  revived  in 
water  in  1771.  They  enjoyed  a  rare  satisfaction 
in  elbowing  their  own  twenty-eighth  generation. 
Wouldn't  a  man  who  should  see  his  own  twenty- 
eighth  generation  be  a  happy  grandfather? 

"  Another  no  less  interesting  fact  is  that  desic 
cated  animals  have  vastly  more  tenacity  of  life  than 
others.     If  the   temperature  were  suddenly  to  fall 


THE    BROKEN"    EAR.  23 

thirty  degrees  in  this  laboratory,  we  should  all  get 
inflammation  of  the  lungs.  If  it  were  to  rise  as  much, 
there  would  be  danger  of  congestion  of  the  brain 
Well,  a  desiccated  animal,  which  is  not  absolutely 
dead,  and  which  will  revive  to-morrow  if  I  soak  it, 
faces  with  impunity,  variations  of  ninety-five  degrees 
and  six-tenths.  M.  Meiser  and  plenty  of  others  have 
proved  it. 

"  It  remains  to  inquire,  then,  if  a  superior  animal,  a 
man  for  instance,  can  be  desiccated  without  any  more 
disastrous  consequences  than  a  little  worm  or  a  tardi- 
grade. M.  Meiser  was  convinced  that  it  is  practica- 
ble ;  he  wrrote  to  that  effect  in  all  his  books,  although 
he  did  not  demonstrate  it  by  experiment. 

Now  where  would  be  the  harm  in  it,  ladies  ?  All 
men  curious  in  regard  to  the  future,  or  dissatisfied 
with  life,  or  out  of  sorts  with  their  contemporaries, 
could  hold  themselves  in  reserve  for  a  better  age, 
and  we  should  have  no  more  suicides  on  account  of 
misanthrophy.  Valetudinarians,  whom  the  ignorant 
science  of  the  nineteenth  century  declares  incurable, 
needn't  blow  their  brains  out  any  more  ;  they  can 
have  themselves  dried  up  and  wait  peaceably  in  a 
box  until  Medicine  shall  have  found  a  remedy  for 
their  disorders.  Rejected  lovers  need  no  longer 
throw  themselves  into  the  river  ;  they  can  put  them- 
selves under  the  receiver  of  an  air  pump,  and  make 
their  appearance  thirty  years  later,  young,  hand- 
some and  triumphant,  satirizing  the  age  of  their 
cruel   charmers,  and    paying   them   back   scorn  for 


24       THE  MAN  WITH  THE  BROKEN  EAR. 

scorn.  Governments  will  give  up  the  unnatural 
and  barbarous  custom  of  guillotining  dangerous  peo- 
ple. They  will  no  longer  shut  them  up  in  cramped 
cells  at  Mazas  to  complete  their  brutishness;  they 
will  not  send  them  to  the  Toulon  school  to  finish 
their  criminal  education  ;  they  will  merely  dry  them 
up  in  batches — one  for  ten  years,  another  for  forty, 
according  to  the  gravity  of  their  deserts.  A  simple 
store-house  will  replace  the  prisons,  police  lock-ups 
and  jails.  There  will  be  no  more  escapes  to  fear,  no 
more  prisoners  to  feed.  An  enormous  quantity  of 
dried  beans  and  mouldy  potatoes  will  be  saved  for 
the  consumption  of  the  country. 

"You  have,  ladies,  a  feeble  delineation  of  tha 
benefits  which  Doctor  Meiser  hoped  to  pour  upon 
Europe  by  introducing  the  desiccation  of  man.  He 
made  his  great  experiment  in  1813  on  a  Fi-eneh 
colonel — a  prisoner,  T  have  been  told,  and  condemned 
as  a  spy  by  court-martial.  Unhappily  he  did  not 
succeed ;  for  I  bought  the  colonel  and  his  box  for 
the  price  of  an  ordinary  cavalry  horse,  in  the  dir 
tiest  shop  in  Berlin  " 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE    VICTIM:. 

"  My  dear  Leon,''  said  M.  Renault,  "  you  remind 
me  of  a  college  commencement.  We  have  listen- 
ed to  your  dissertation  just  as  they  listen  to  the 
Latin  discourse  of  the  professor  of  rhetoric  ;  there  are 
always  in  the  audience  a  majority  which  learns 
nothing-  from  it,  and  a  minority  which  understands 
nothing  of  it.  But  every  body  listens  patiently,  on 
account  of  the  seusations  which  are  to  come  by  and 
by.  M.  Martout  and  I  are  acquainted  with  Meiser'a 
works,  and  those  of  his  distinguished  pupil,  M. 
Pouchet ;  you  have,  then,  said  too  much  that  is  in 
them,  if  you  intended  to  speak  for  our  benefit ;  and 
you  have  not  said  enough  that  is  in  them  for  these 
ladies  and  srentlemen  who  know  nothing  of  the  ex- 
isting;  discussions  reg-ardino-  the  vital  and  organic 
principles. 

"Is  life  a  principle  of  action  which  animates  the 
organs  and  puts  them  into  play  ?  Is  it  not.  on  the 
contrary,  merely  the  result  of  organization — the  play 
of  various  functions  of  organized  matter  ?  This  is  a 
problem  of  the  highest  importance,  which  would  in- 
terest the  ladies  themselves,  if  one  were  to  place  it 
plainly  before  them.     It  would  be  sufficient  to  say : 


26  THE    MAN    WITH 

'  We  inquire  whether  there  is  a  vital  principle — the 
source  of  all  functions  of  the  body,  or  if  life  be  not 
merely  the  result  of  the  regular  play  of  the  organs  ? 
The  vital  principle,  in  the  eyes  of  Meiser  and  his  dis- 
ciple, does  not  exist ;  if  it  really  existed,  they  say, 
one  could  not  understand  how  it  can  leave  a  man 
and  a  tardigrade  when  they  are  desiccated,  and  re- 
turn to  them  again  when  they  are  soaked.'  Now, 
if  there  be  no  vital  principle,  all  the  metaphysical 
and  moral  theories  which  have  been  hypothecated 
on  its  existence,  must  be  reconstructed.  These 
ladies  have  listened  to  you  patiently,  it  is  but  justice 
to  them  to  admit ;  but  all  that  they  have  been  able 
to  gather  from  your  slightly  Latinish  discourse,  is 
that  you  have  given  them  a  dissertation  instead  of 
the  romance  you  promised.  But  we  all  forgive  you 
for  the  sake  of  the  mummy  you  are  going  to  show 
us.     Open  the  colonel's  box." 

"  We've  well  earned  the  sis;ht !  "  cried  Clemen- 
tine,  laughing. 

"  But  suppose  you  were  to  get  frightened  ?  " 

"  I'd  have  you  know,  sir,  that  I'm  not  afraid  of 
anybody,  not  even  of  live  colonels  !  " 

Leon  took  his  bunch  of  keys  and  opened  the  long 
oak  box  on  which  he  had  been  seated.  The  lid 
being  raised,  they  s:iw  a  great  leaden  casket  which 
enclosed  a  magnificent  walnut  box  carefully  polished 
on  the  outside,  and  lined  on  the  inside  with  white 
silk,  and  padded.  The  others  brought  their  lamps 
and  candles  near,  and  the  colonel  of  the  23d  of  the 


THE    BROKEN    EAR.  27 

line  appeared  as  if  he  were  in  a  chapel  illuminated 
for  his  lying  in  state. 

One  would  have  said  that  the  man  was  asleep. 
The  perfect  preservation  of  the  body  attested  the 
paternal  care  of  the  murderer.  It  was  truly  a  re- 
markable preparation,  and  would  have  borne  com- 
parison with  the  finest  European  mummies  described 
by  Vicq  d'Azyr  in  1779,  and  by  the  younger  Puy- 
maurin  in  1787. 

The  part  best  preserved,  as  is  always  the  case, 
was  the  face.  All  the  features  had  maintained  a 
proud  and  manly  expression.  If  any  old  friend  of 
the  colonel  had  been  present  at  the  opening  of  the 
third  box,  he  would  have  recognized  him  at  first  sight. 

Undoubtedly  the  point  of  the  nose  was  a  little 
sharper,  the  nostrils  less  expanded  and  thinner,  and 
the  bridge  a  little  more  marked  than  in  the  year 
1813.  The  eye-lids  were  thinned,  the  lips  pinched, 
the  corners  of  the  mouth  drawn  down,  the  cheek 
bones  too  prominent,  and  the  neck  visibly  shrunken, 
which  exaggerated  the  prominence  of  the  chin  and 
larynx.  But  the  eyelids  were  closed  without  con- 
traction, and  the  sockets  much  less  hollow  than  one 
could  have  expected ;  the  mouth  was  not  at  all  dis- 
torted like  the  mouth  of  a  corpse ;  the  skin  was 
slightly  wrinkled  but  had  not  changed  color ;  it  had 
only  become  a  little  more  transparent,  showing,  after 
a  fashion,  the  color  of  the  tendons,  the  fat  and  the 
muscles,  wherever  it  rested  directly  upon  them.  It 
also  had  a  rosy  tint  which  is  not  ordinarily  seen  in 


28  THE    MAN    WITH 

embalmed  corpses.  Doctor  Martout  explained  this 
anomaly  by  saying  that  if  the  colonel  bad  actually 
been  dried  alive,  the  globules  of  the  blood  were  not 
decomposed,  but  simply  collected  in  the  capillary 
vessels  of  the  skin  and  subjacent  tissues  where 
they  still  preserved  their  proper  color,  and  could  be 
seen  more  easily  than  otherwise,  on  account  of  the 
semi-transparency  of  the  skin.. 

The  uniform  had  become  much  too  large,  as  may 
be  readily  understood ;  though  it  did  not  seem,  at  a 
casual  glance,  that  the  members  had  become 
deformed.  The  hands  were  dry  and  angular,  but 
the  nails,  although  a  little  bent  inward  toward  the 
root,  had  preserved  all  their  freshness.  The  only 
very  noticeable  change  was  the  excessive  depression 
of  the  abdominal  walls,  which  seemed  crowded 
downward  toward  the  posterior  side ;  at  the  right, 
a  slight  elevation  indicated  the  place  of  the  liver. 
A  tap  of  the  finger  on  the  various  parts  of  the  body, 
produced  a  sound  like  that  from  dry  leather.  While 
Leon  was  pointing  out  these  details  to  his  audience 
and  doing  the  honors  of  his  mummy  he  awkwardly 
broke  off  the  lower  part  of  the  right  ear,  and  a  little 
piece  of  the  Colonel  remained  in  his  hand. 

This  trifling  accident  might  have  passed  un- 
noticed, had  not  Clementine,  who  followed  with 
visible  emotion  all  the  movements  of  her  lover, 
dropped  her  candle  and  uttered  a  cry  of  affright 
All  gathered  around  her.  Leon  took  her  in  his  arms 
and  carried  her  to  a  chair.     M.  Renault  ran  after 


THE   BBOKEN   EAK.  29 

salts.  She  was  as  pale  as  death,  and  seemed  on  the 
point  of  fainting. 

She  soon  recovered,  however,  and  reassured  them 
all  by  a  charming  smile. 

"  Pardon  me,"  she  said,  "  for  such  a  ridiculous  exhi- 
bition of  terror;  but  what  Monsieur  Leon  was  saying 
to  us  ...  .  and  then  ....  that  figure  which  seemed 
sleeping  ....  it  appeared  to  me  that  the  poor  man 
was  going  to  open  his  mouth  and  cry  out  when  he 
was  injured." 

Leon  hastened  to  close  the  walnut  box,  while  M. 
Martout  picked  up  the  piece  of  ear  and  put  it  in  his 
pocket.  But  Clementine,  while  continuing  to  smile 
and  make  apologies,  was  overcome  by  a  fresh  acces- 
sion of  emotion  and  melted  into  tears.  The  enpineer 
threw  himself  at  her  feet,  poured  forth  excuses  and 
tender  phrases,  and  did  all  he  could  to  console  her 
inexplicable  grief.  Clementine  dried  her  eyes, 
looked  prettier  than  ever,  and  sighed  fit  to  break  her 
heart,  without  knowing  why. 

"Beast  that  I  am!"  muttered  Leon,  tearing  his 
hair.  "  On  the  day  when  I  see  her  again  after  three 
years'  absence,  I  can  think  of  nothing  more  soul- 
inspiring  than  showing  her  mummies  !"  He  launched 
a  kick  at  the  triple  coffin  of  the  Colonel,  saying: 
"  I  wish  the  devil  had  the  confounded  Colonel !  " 

"  No  !  "  cried  Clementine  with  redoubled  energy 
and  emotion.  "  Do  not  curse  him,  Monsieur  Leon  ! 
He  has  suffered  so  much !  Ah  !  poor,  poor  unfortu- 
nate man  ! " 


30  THE   MAX   WITH 

Mile.  Sambucco  felt  a  little  ashamed.  She  made 
excuses  for  her  niece,  and  declared  that  never,  since 
her  tenderest  childhood,  had  she  manifested  such 
extreme  sensitiveness.  M.  and  Mme.  Renault,  who 
had  seen  her  grow  up  ;  Doctor  Martout  who  had  held 
the  sinecure  of  physician  to  her ;  the  architect,  the 
notary,  in  a  word,  everybody  present  was  plunged 
into  a  state  of  absolute  stupefaction.  Clementine 
was  no  sensitive  plant.  She  was  not  even  a  romantic 
school  girl.  Her  youth  had  not  been  nourished  by 
Anne  Radcliffe,  she  did  not  trouble  herself  about 
ghosts,  and  she  would  go  through  the  house  very 
tranquilly  at  ten  o'clock  at  night  without  a  candle. 
When  her  mother  died,  some  months  before  Leon's 
departure,  she  did  not  wish  to  have  any  one  share 
with  her  the  sad  satisfaction  of  watching  and  pray- 
ing in  the  death-chamber. 

"  This  will  teach  us,"  said  the  aunt,  "  how  to 
stay  up  after  ten  o'clock.  What !  It  is  midnight, 
all  to  quarter  of  an  hour !  Come,  my  child ;  you 
will  get  better  fast  enough  after  you  get  to  bed." 

Clementine  arose  submissively,  but  at  the  mo- 
ment of  leaving  the  laboratory  she  retraced  her 
steps,  and  with  a  caprice  more  inexplicable  than  her 
grief,  she  absolutely  wished  to  see  the  mummy  of 
the  colonel  again.  Her  aunt  scolded  in  vain  ;  in 
spite  of  the  remarks  of  Mile.  Sambucco  and  all  the 
persons  present,  she  reopened  the  walnut  box, 
kneeled  down  beside  the  mummy  and  kissed  it  on 
the  forehead. 


THE   BROKEN"   EAR.  31 

"  Poor  man !  "  said  she,  rising,  "  How  cold  he  is ! 
Monsieur  Leon,  promise  me  that  if  he  is  dead  you 
will  have  him  laid  in  consecrated  ground  !  " 

"  As  you  please,  Mademoiselle.  I  had  intended 
to  send  him  to  the  anthropological  museum,  with 
my  father's  permission  ;  hut  you  know  that  we  can 
refuse  you  nothing." 

They  did  not  sepai'ate  as  gaily,  hy  a  good  deal, 
as  they  had  met.  M.  Renault  and  his  son  escorted 
Mile.  Samhucco  and  her  niece  to  their  door,  and 
met  the  big  colonel  of  cuirassiers  who  had  been  hon- 
oring Clementine  with  his  attentions.  The  young 
girl  tenderly  pressed  the  arm  of  her  betrothed  and 
said:  "Here  is  a  man  who  never  sees  me  without 
sighing.  And  what  sighs  !  Gracious  Heavens  !  It 
wouldn't  take  more  than  two  to  fill  the  sails  of  a 
a  ship.  The  race  of  colonels  has  vastly  degenerated 
since  1813.  One  doesn't  see  any  more  such  fine  look- 
ing ones  as  our  unfortunate  friend." 

Leon  agreed  with  all  she  said.  But  he  did  not 
exactly  see  how  he  had  become  the  friend  of  a  mum- 
my for  which  he  had  just  paid  twenty-five  louis.  To 
divert  the  conversation,  he  said  to  Clementine  :  "  I 
have  not  yet  shown  you  all  the  nice  things  I 
brought.  His  majesty,  the  Emperor  of  all  the  F,us- 
sias,  made  me  a  present  of  a  little  enamelled  gold 
star  hanging  at  the  end"  of  a  ribbon.  Do  you  like 
button-hole  ribbons  ?  " 

"  Oh,  yes  !  "  answered  she,  "  the  red  ribbon  of 
the  Legion  of  Honor.     Did  you  notice  ?    The  poor 


32  THE   MAN   WITH 

colonel  still  has  a  shred  of  one  on  his  uniform,  hut 
the  cross  is  there  no  longer.  Those  wicked  Ger- 
mans tore  it  away  from  him  when  they  took  him 
prisoner !  " 

"  It's  very  possible,"  said  Leon. 

When  they  reached  Mile.  Sambucco's  house,  it 
was  time  to  separate.  Clementine  offered  her  hand 
to  Leon,  who  would  have  been  better  pleased  with 
her  cheek. 

Father  and  son  returned  home  arm  in  arm,  with 
slow  steps,  giving  themselves  up  to  endless  conjec- 
tures regarding  the  whimsical  emotions  of  Clem- 
entine. 

Mine.  Renault  was  waiting  to  put  her  son  to 
bed ;  a  time-honored  and  touching  habit  which 
mothers  do  not  early  lose.  She  showed  him  the 
handsome  apartment  above  the  parlor  and  M.  Re- 
nault's laboratory,  which  had  been  prepared  for  his 
future  domicile. 

"  You  will  be  as  snug  in  here  as  a  little  cock  in 
a  pie,"  said  she,  showing  hiin  a  bed-chamber  fairly 
marvellous  in  its  comfort.  "  All  the  furniture  is  soft 
and  rounded,  without  a  single  angle.  A  blind  man 
could  walk  here  without  any  fear  of  hurting  himself. 
See  how  I  understand  domestic  comfort !  Why, 
each  arm-chair  can  be  a  friend !  This  will  cost  you 
a  trifle.  Penon  Brothers  came  from  Paris  expressly. 
But  a  man  ought  to  be  comfortable  at  home,  so  that 
he  may  have  no  temptation  to  go  abroad." 

This  sweet  motherly  prattle  stretched  itself  over 


THE    BROKEN    EAR.  33 

two  good  hours,  and  much  of  it  related  to  Clemen- 
tine, as  you  will  readily  suppose.  Leon  had  found 
her  prettier  than  he  had  dreamed  her  in  his  sweetest 
visions,  but  less  loving.  "  Devil  take  me  !  "  said  he, 
blowing  out  his  candle ;  "  One  might  think  that, 
that  confounded  stuffed  Colonel  Lad  come  to  thrust 
himself  between  us." 
2* 


CHAPTER  V. 

DREAMS  OF  LOVE,  AND  OTHER  DREAMS. 

Leon  learned  to  his  cost,  that  a  good  conscience 
and  a  good  bed  are  not  enough  to  insure  a  good 
sleep.  He  was  bedded  like  a  sybarite,  innocent  as 
an  Arcadian  shepherd,  and,  moreover,  tired  as  a  sol- 
dier after  a  forced  march;  nevertheless  a  dull  sleep- 
lessness weighed  upon  him  until  morning.  In  vain 
he  tossed  into  every  possible  position,  as  if  to  shift 
the  burden  from  one  shoulder  on  to  the  other.  He 
did  not  close  his  eyes  until  he  had  seen  the  first 
glimmering  of  dawn  silver  the  chinks  of  his  shutters. 

He  lulled  himself  to  sleep  thinking  of  Clem- 
entine: an  oblio-insi  dream  soon  showed  him  the 
image  of  her  he  loved.  He  saw  her  in  bridal  cos- 
tume, in  the  chapel  of  the  imperial  chateau.  She 
was  leaning  on  the  arm  of  the  elder  M.  Renault, 
who  had  put  spurs  on  in  honor  of  the  ceremony. 
Leon  followed,  having  given  his  arm  to  Mile.  Sarn- 
bucco ;  the  ancient  maiden  was  decorated  with  the 
insignia  of  the  Legion  of  Honor.  On  approaching 
the  altar,  the  bridegroom  noticed  that  his  father's 
legs  were  as  thin  as  broomsticks,  and,  when  he  was 
about  expressing  his  astonishment,  M.  Renault  turn- 


THE  MAN  WITH  THE  BROKEN  EAR.       35 

ed  around  and  said  to  him :  "  They  are  thin  because 
they  are  desiccated ;  but  they  are  not  deformed." 
While  he  was  giving  this  explanation,  his  face  alter- 
ed, his  features  changed,  he  shot  out  a  black  mous- 
tache, and  grew  terribly  like  the  Colonel.  The 
ceremony  began.  The  choir  was  filled  with  tardi- 
grades  and  rotifers  as  large  as  men  and  dressed  like 
choristei*s :  they  intoned,  in  solemn  measure,  a  hymn 
of  the  German  composer,  Meiser,  which  began  thus : 

The  vital  principle 
Is  a  gratuitous  hypothesis ! 

The  poetry  and  the  music  appeared  admirable  to 
Leon ;  he  was  trying  to  impress  them  on  his  memory 
when  the  officiating  priest  advanced  toward  him 
with  two  gold  rings  on  a  silver  salver.  This  priest 
was  a  colonel  of  cuirassiers  in  full  uniform.  Leon 
asked  himself  when  and  where  he  had  met  him.  It 
was  on  the  previous  evening  before  Clementine's 
door.  The  cuirassier  murmured  these  words:  "The 
race  of  colonels  has  vastly  degenerated  since  1813." 
He  heaved  a  profound  sigh,  and  the  nave  of  the 
chapel,  which  was  a  ship-of-the-line,  was  driven  over 
the  water  at  a  speed  of  forty  knots.  Leon  tran- 
quilly took  the  little  gold  ring  and  prepared  to  place 
it  on  Clementine's  finger,  but  he  perceived  that  the 
hand  of  his  betrothed  was  dried  up ;  the  nails  alone 
had  retained  their  natural  freshness.  He  was  fright- 
ened and  fled  across  the  church,  which  he  found 
filled  with  colonels  of  every  age  and  variety.     The 


36  THE    MAN   WITH 

crowd  was  so  dense  that  the  most  unheard-of  efforts 
failed  to  penetrate  it.  He  escapes  at  last,  but  hears 
behind  him  the  hurried  steps  of  a  man  who  tries  to 
catch  him.  He  doubles  his  speed,  he  throws  him- 
self on  all-fours,  he  gallops,  he  neighs,  the  trees  on 
the  way  seem  to  fly  behind  him,  he  no  longer  touches 
the  earth.  But  the  enemy  comes  up  faster  than  the 
wind ;  Leon  hears  the  sound  of  his  steps,  his  spurs 
jingle ;  he  catches  up  with  Leon,  seizes  him  by  the 
mane,  flings  himself  with  a  bound  upon  his  back, 
and  goads  him  with  the  spur.  Leon  rears  ;  the  rider 
bends  over  toward  his  ear  and  says,  stroking  him 
with  his  whip:  "I  am  not  heavy  to  carry: — thirty 
pounds  of  colonel."  The  unhappy  lover  of  Mile. 
Clementine  makes  a  violent  effort  and  springs  side- 
ways ;  the  Colonel  falls  and  draws  his  sword.  Leon 
loses  no  time ;  he  puts  himself  on  guard  and  fights, 
but  almost  instantly  feels  the  Colonel's  sword  enter 
his  heart  to  the  hilt.  The  chill  of  the  blade  spreads 
further  and  further,  and  ends  by  freezing  Leon  from 
head  to  foot.  The  Colonel  draws  nearer  and  says, 
smiling :  "  The  mainspring  is  broken  ;  the  little  ani- 
mal is  dead."  He  puts  the  body  in  the  walnut 
box,  which  is  too  short  and  too  narrow.  Cramped 
on  every  side,  -Leon  struggles,  strains  and  wakes 
himself  up,  worn  out  with  fatigue  and  half  smothered 
between  the  bed  and  the  wall. 

He  quickly  jumped  into  his  slippers  and  eager- 
ly raised  the  windows  and  pushed  open  the  shut- 
ters.    '•  He  made  light,  and  saw  that  it  was  good," 


^ 


THE    BROKEN    EAR.  37 

as  is  elsewhere  written.  ******* 
*  *  *  *  *  Brrroum!  He  shook  off  the 
recollections  of  his  dream  as  a  wet  dog  shakes  off 
drops  of  water.  The  famous  London  chronometer 
told  him  that  it  was  nine  o'clock.  A  cup  of  chocolate, 
served  by  Gothon,  helped  not  a  little  to  untangle  his 
ideas.  On  proceeding  with  his  toilet,  in  a  very- 
bright,  cheerful  and  convenient  dressing-room,  he 
reconciled  himself  to  the  realities  of  life.  "  Every- 
thing considered,"  he  said  to  himself,  combing  out 
his  yellow  beard,  "nothing  but  happiness  has  come 
to  me.  Here  I  am  in  my  native  country,  with  my 
family  and  in  a  pretty  house  which  is  our  own.  My 
father  and  mother  are  both  well,  and,  for  myself,  I 
revel  in  the  most  luxuriant  health.  Our  fortune  is 
moderate,  but  so  are  our  tastes,  and  we  shall  never 
feel  the  want  of  anything.  Our  friends  received  me 
yesterday  with  open  arcns  ;  and  as  for  enemies  we 
have  none.  The  prettiest  girl  in  Fontainebleau  is 
willing  to  become  my  wife ;  I  can  marry  her  in  less 
than  three  weeks  if  I  see  fit  to  hurry  thing ;  a  little. 
Clementine  did  not  meet  me  as  if  I  were  of  no  in- 
terest to  her ;  far  from  it.  Her  lovely  eyes  smiled 
upon  me  last  night  with  the  most  tender  regard.  It 
is  true  that  she  wept  at  the  end,  that's  too  certain. 
That  is  my  only  vexation,  ray  only  anxiety,  the  sole 
cause  of  that  foolish  dream  I  had  last  nisdit.  She 
did  weep,  but  why  ?  Because  I  was  beast  enough 
to  regale  her  with  a  lecture,  and  that,  too,  about  a 
mummy.     All  right !     I'll  have  the  mummy  buried  ; 


38  THE    MAN    WITH 

I'll  hold  back  my  dissertations,  and  nothing  else  in 
the  world  will  come  to  disturb  our  happiness." 

He  went  down  stairs,  humming  an  air  from  the 
Nbzze.  M.  and  Mme.  Renault,  who  were  not  accus- 
tomed to  going  to  bed  after  midnight,  were  still 
asleep.  On  going  into  the  laboratory,  he  saw 
that  the  triple  box  of  the  Colonel  was  closed.  Go- 
thon  had  placed  a  little  wooden  cross  and  a  sprig  of 
consecrated  box  on  the  cover.  "  We  may  as  well 
begin  masses  for  his  soul,"  he  murmured  between 
his  teeth,  with  a  smile  that  might  have  been  a  little 
sceptical.  At  the  same  time  he  noticed  that  Clem- 
entine, in  her  agitation,  had  forgotten  the  presents 
he  had  brought  her.  He  made  a  bundle  of  them, 
looked  at  his  watch,  and  concluded  that  there  would 
be  no  indiscretion  in  straining  a  point  to  go  to  Mile. 
Sambucco's. 

The  much-to-be-respected  aunt  was  an  early  ri- 
ser, as  they  generally  are  in  the  rural  districts,  and 
had,  in  fact,  already  gone  out  to  church,  and  Clemen- 
tine was  gardening  near  the  house.  She  ran  to  her 
lover  without  thinking  of  throwing  down  the  little 
rake  she  held  in  her  hand,  and  with  the  sweetest 
smile  in  the  world,  held  up  her  pretty  rosy  cheeks 
which  were  a  little  moist  and  flushed  by  the  pleas- 
ant    armth  of  pleasure  and  exercise. 

"  Aren't  you  put  out  with  me  ?  "  said  she.  "  I  was 
very  ridiculous  last  night.  My  aunt  has  scolded  me 
in  the  bargain.  And  I  forgot  to  take  the  pretty 
things  you  brought   me   from  among   the  savages  1 


THE   BEOKEX   EAK.  39 

But  it  was  not  from  lack  of  appreciation.  I  am  so 
happy  to  see  that  you  have  always  thought  of  me  as 
I  have  thought  of  you!  I  could  have  sent  for  them 
to-day,  but  I  am  pleasantly  anticipated.  My  heart 
told  me  that  you  would  come  yourself." 

"Your  heart  knew  me,  dear  Clementine." 

"  It  would  be  very  unfortunate  if  it  did  not  know 
its  owner." 

"  How  good  you  are,  and  how  much  I  love 
you ! " 

"  Oh !  I,  too,  dear  Leon,  I  love  you  dearly." 

She  stood  the  rake  against  a  tree,  and  hung  upon 
the  arm  of  her  intended  husband  with  that  supple 
and  languishing  grace,  the  secret  of  which  the  Cre- 
oles possess. 

"  Come  this  way  "  said  she,  "  so  that  I  can  show 
you  all  the  improvements  we  have  made  in  the  gar- 
den." 

Leon  admired  everything  she  wanted  him  to. 
The  fact  is  that  he  had  eyes  for  nothing  but  her. 
The  grotto  of  Polyphemus  and  the  cave  of  Caecus 
would  have  appeared  to  him  pleasanter  than  the  gar- 
dens of  Armicla,  if  Clementine's  little  red  jacket  had 
been  promenading  in  them. 

He  asked  her  if  she  did  not  feel  some  regret  in 
leaving  so  charming  a  retreat,  and  one  which  she  had 
embellished  with  so  much  care. 

"  Why  ?  "  asked  she,  without  thinking  to  blush. 
"  We  will  not  go  far  off,  and,  besides,  won't  we  come 
here  every  day  ?  " 


40  THE   MAN  WITH 

The  coming  marriage  was  a  thing  so  well  set- 
tled, that  it  had  not  even  been  spoken  of  on  the  pre- 
vious evening.  Nothing  remained  to  be  done  but  to 
publish  the  bans  and  fix  the  date.  Clementine,  sim- 
ple and  honest  heart,  expressed  herself  without  any 
false  modesty  concerning  an  event  so  entirely  ex- 
pected, so  natural  and  so  agreeable.  She  had  ex- 
pressed her  tastes  to  Mine.  Renault  in  the  arrange- 
ment of  the  new  apartments,  and  chosen  the  hang- 
ings herself;  and  she  no  longer  made  any  ceremony 
in  talking  with  her  intended  of  the  happy  life  in  com- 
mon which  was  about  beginning  for  them,  of  the  peo- 
ple they  would  invite  to  the  marriage  ceremony,  of 
the  wedding  calls  to  be  made  afterwards,  of  the  day 
which  should  be  appropriated  for  receptions  and  of 
the  time  they  would  devote  to  each  other's  society 
and  to  work.  She  inquired  in  regard  to  the  occu- 
pation which  Leon  intended  to  make  for  himself,  and 
the  hours  which,  of  preference,  he  would  give  to 
study.  This  excellent  little  Avoman  would  have 
been  ashamed  to  bear  the  name  of  a  sloth,  and  un- 
happy in  passing  her  days  with  an  idler.  She  prom- 
ised Leon  in  advance,  to  respect  his  work  as  a  sacred 
thing.  On  her  part  she  thoroughly  intended  to  make 
her  time  also  of  use,  and  not  to  live  with  folded  arms. 
At  the  start  she  would  take  charge  of  the  housekeep- 
ing, under  the  direction  of  Madame  Renault,  who  was 
beginning  to  find  it  a  little  burdensome.  And  then 
would  she  not  soon  have  children  to  care  for,  bring 
up  and  educate  ?    This  was  a  noble  and  useful  pleas- 


THE    BBOKEK    EAR.  41 

ure  Avhich  she  did  not  intend  to  share  with  any  one 
Nevertheless  she  would  send  her  sons  to  college,  in 
order  to  lit  them  for  living  in  the  world,  and  to 
teach  them  early  those  principles  of  justice  and  equal- 
ity which  are  the  foundation  of  every  good  manly 
character.  Leon  let  her  talk  on,  only  interrupting  her 
to  agree  with  her:  for  these  two  young  people  who 
had  been  educated  and  brought  up  with  the  same 
ideas,  saw  everything  with  the  same  eyes.  Education 
had  created  this  pleasant  harmony  rather  than  Love. 

"  Do  you  know  "  said  Clementine,  "  that  I  felt 
an  awful  palpitation  of  the  heart  when  I  entered  the 
room  where  you  were  yesterday  ?  " 

"If  you  think  that  my  heart  beat  less  violently 
than  yours — " 

"  Oh  !  but  it  was  a  different  thing  with  me :  I 
was  afraid." 

"What  of?" 

"  I  was  afraid  that  I  should  not  find  you  the 
same  as  I  had  seen  you  in  my  thoughts.  Remember 
that  it  had  been  three  years  since  we  bid  each  other 
good  bye.  I  remembered  distinctly  what  you  were 
when  you  went  away,  and,  with  imagination  helping 
memory  a  little,  »I  had  reconstructed  my  Leon 
entire.  But  if  you  had  no  longer  resembled  him  ! 
What  would  have  become  of  me  in  the  presence  of  a 
new  Leon,  when  I  had  formed  the  pleasant  habit  of 
loving  the  other  ?  " 

"  You  make  me  tremble.  But  your  first  greeting 
reassured  me  in  advance." 


42  THE   MAN   WITH 

"  Tut,  sir !  Don't  speak  of  that  first  greeting, 
or  you  will  make  me  blush  a  second  time.  Let  us 
speak  rather  of  that  poor  colonel  who  made  me  shed 
so  many  tears.  How  is  he  getting  along  this  morn- 
ing ?  " 

"  I  forgot  to  inquire  after  his  health,  but  if  you 
want  me  to — " 

"  It's  useless.  Tou  can  announce  to  him  a  visit 
from  me  to-day.  It  is  absolutely  necessary  that  I 
should  see  him  this  noon." 

"  You  would  be  very  sensible  to  give  up  this 
fancy.  Why  expose  yourself  again  to  such  painful 
emotions  ?  " 

"  The  fancy  is  stronger  than  I  am.  Seriously, 
dear  Leon,  the  old  fellow  attracts  me." 

"  Why  '  old  fellow  ? '  He  has  the  appearance  of  a 
man  who  died  when  from  twenty-five  to  thirty  years 
of  age." 

"  Are  you  very  sure  that  he  is  dead  ?  I  said  '  old 
fellow  '  because  of  a  dream  I  had  last  night." 

"  Ha  !     You  too  ?  " 

"Yes.    You  remember  how  agitated  I  was  on 
leaving  you,  and,  moreover,  I  had  been  scolded  by 
my  aunt.     And,  too,  I  had  been  thinking  of  terrible 
sights — my  poor  mother  lying  on  her  death-bed     . 
In  fact,  my  spirits  were  quite  broken  down." 

"  Poor  dear  little  heart !  " 

"  Nevertheless,  as  I  did  not  want  to  think  about 
anything  any  more,  I  went  to  bed  quickly,  and  shut 
my  eyes  with  all  my  might,  so  tightly,  indeed,  that 


THE    BROKEN    EAR.  43 

I  put  myself  to  sleep.  It  was  not  long  before  I  saw 
the  colonel.  He  was  lying  as  I  saw  him  in  his  triple 
coffin,  but  he  had  long  white  hair  and  a  most  benign 
and  venerable  appearance.  He  begged  us  to  put  him 
in  conseci'ated  ground,  and  we  carried  him,  you  and 
I,  to  the  Fontainebleau  cemetery.  On  reaching  my 
mother's  tomb  we  saw  that  the  stone  was  displaced. 
My  mother,  in  a  white  robe,  was  moved  so  as  to 
make  a  place  beside  her,  and  she  seemed  waiting  for 
the  colonel.  But  every  time  we  attempted  to  lay 
him  down,  the  coffin  left  our  hands  and  rested  sus- 
pended in  the  air,  as  if  it  had  no  weight.  I  could 
distinguish  the  poor  old  man's  features,  for  his  triple 
coffin  had  become  as  transparent  as  the  alabaster 
lamp  burning  near  the  ceiling  of  my  chamber.  He 
was  sad,  and  his  broken  ear  bled  freely.  All  at  once 
he  escaped  from  our  hands,  the  coffin  vanished,  and 
I  saw  nothing  but  him,  pale  as  a  statue,  and  tall  as 
the  tallest  oaks  of  the  bas-JBreau.  His  golden  epau- 
lettes snread  out  and  became  wino-s,  and  he  raised 
himself  to  heaven,  holding  over  us  both  hands  as  if 
in  blessing.  I  woke  up  all  in  tears,  but  I  have  not 
told  my  dream  to  my  aunt,  for  she  would  have 
scolded  me  again." 

"  No  one  ought  to  be  scolded  but  me,  Clemen- 
tine dear.  It  is  my  fault  that  your  gentle  slumbers 
are  troubled  by  visions  of  the  other  world.  But  all 
this  will  be  stopped  soon:  to-day  I  am  going  to 
seek  a  definite  receptacle  for  the  Colonel." 


CHAPTER  VI. 

A  YOUNG   GIRL'S    CAPRICE. 

Cleheisttine  had  a  fresh  young  heart.  Before 
knowing  Leon,  she  had  loved  but  one  person — her 
mother.  No  cousins  of  either  sex,  nor  uncles,  nor 
aunts,  nor  grandfathers,  nor  grandmothers,  had  dis- 
sipated, by  dividing  it  among  themselves,  that  little 
treasure  of  affection  which  well-constituted  children 
bring  into  the  world.  The  grandmother,  Clemen- 
tine Pichon,  was  married  at  Nancy  in  January,  1814, 
and  died  three  months  later  in  the  suburbs  of  Toulon, 
during  her  first  confinement.  The  grandfather,  M. 
Langevin,  a  sub-commissary  of  the  first  class,  being 
left  a  widower,  with  a  daughter  in  the  cradle,  de- 
voted himself  to  bringing  up  his  child.  He  gave 
her,  in  1835,  to  M.  Sambucco,  an  estimable  and  agree- 
able man,  of  Italian  extraction,  born  in  France,  and 
Kino's  counsel  in  the  court  of  Marseilles.  In  1838 
M.  Sambucco,  who  was  a  man  of  considerable  inde- 
pendence, because  he  had  resources  of  his  own,  in 
some  manner  highly  honorable  to  himself,  incurred 
the  ill-will  of  the  Keeper  of  the  Seals.  Pie  was 
therefore  appointed  Advocate-General  to  Martinique, 


THE    MAN   WITH    THE    BROKEN    EAR.  45 

and  after  some  days  of  hesitation,  accepted  the  trans- 
fer to  that  remote  situation.  But  old  M.  Langevin 
did  not  easily  console  himself  for  the  departure  of 
his  daughter:  he  died  two  years  later  without  hav- 
ing embraced  the  little  Clementine,  to  whom  it  was 
intended  that  he  should  be  godfather.  M.  Sambucco, 
his  son-in-law,  lost  hk  life  in  1843,  during  an  earth- 
quake. The  papers  of  the  colony  and  of  the  metrop- 
olis related  at  the  time  how  he  had  fallen  a  victim 
to  his  devotion  to  others.  After  this  fearful  misfor- 
tune, the  young  widow  hastened  to  recross  the  sea 
with  her  daughter.  She  settled  in  Fontainebleau, 
in  order  that  the  child  might  live  in  a  healthy  atmos- 
phere. Fontainebleau  is  one  of  the  healthiest  places 
in  France.  If  Mme.  Sambucco  had  been  as  s:ood  a 
manager  as  she  was  mother,  she  would  have  left 
Clementine  a  respectable  fortune,  but  she  regulated 
her  affairs  badly  and  got  herself  under  heavy  embar- 
rassments. A  neighboring  notary  relieved  her  of  a 
round  sum ;  and  two  farms  which  she  had  paid  dearly 
for,  brought  her  almost  nothing.  In  short,  she  no 
longer  knew  what  her  situation  was,  and  began  to 
lose  all  control  of  it,  when  a  sister  of  her  husband, 
an  old  maid,  pinched  and  pious,  expressed  a  desire 
to  live  with  her  and  use  their  resources  in  common. 
The  arrival  of  this  long-toothed  spinster  strangely 
frightened  the  little  Clementine,  who  hid  herself 
under  the  furniture  and  nestled  among  her  mother's 
skirts  ;  but  it  was  the  salvation  of  the  house.  Mile. 
Sambucco  was  not  one  of  the  most  spirituelle  noi 


40  THE    MAX    WITH 

one  of  the  most  romantic  of  women,  but  she  waa 
Order  incarnated.  She  reduced  the  expenses,  handled 
the  resources  herself,  sold  the  two  farms  in  1847, 
bought  some  three-per-cents,  in  1848,  and  restored 
stable  equilibrium  in  the  budget.  Thanks  to  the 
talents  and  activity  of  this  female  steward,  the  gentle 
and  improvident  widow  had  nothing  to  do  but  to 
fondle  her  child.  Clementine  learned  to  honor  the 
virtues  of  her  aunt,  but  she  adored  her  mother. 
When  she  had  the  affliction  of  losing  her,  she  found 
herself  alone  in  the  world,  leaning  on  Mile.  Sambucco, 
like  a  young  plant  on  a  prop  of  dry  wood.  It  was 
then  that  her  friendship  for  Leon  glimmered  with  a 
vague  ray  of  love;  and  young  Renault  pro6ted  by 
the  necessity  for  expansion  which  filled  this  youthful 
soul. 

During  the  three  long  years  that  Leon  spent  away 
from  her,  Clementine  scarcely  knew  that  she  was 
alone.  She  loved  and  felt  that  she  was  loved  in  re- 
turn ;  she  had  faith  in  the  future,  and  an  inner  life 
of  tenderness  and  timid  hope ;  and  this  noble  and 
gentle  heart  required  nothing  more. 

But  what  completely  astonished  her  betrothed, 
her  aunt  and  herself,  and  strangely  subverted  all 
the  best  accredited  theories  respecting  the  feminine 
heart, — what,  indeed,  reason  would  have  refused  to 
credit  hid  it  not  been  established  by  facts,  was  that 
the  day  when  she  again  met  the  husband  of  her 
choice,  an  hour  after  she  had  thrown  herself  into 
Leon's  arms  with  a  grace  so  full  of  trust,  Clementine 


THE    BROKEN    EAR.  4/ 

was  so  abruptly  invaded  by  a  new  sentiment  which 
was  not  love,  nor  friendship,  nor  fear,  but  trans- 
cended them  all  and  spoke  with  master  tones  in  her 
heart. 

From  the  instant  when  Leon  had  shown  her  the 
figure  of  the  Colonel,  she  had  been  seized  by  an 
actual  passion  for  this  nameless  mummy.  It  was 
nothing  like  what  she  felt  towards  young  Renault, 
but  it  was  a  combination  of  interest,  compassion 
and  respectful  sympathy. 

If  any  one  had  recounted  some  famous  feat  of 
arms,  or  some  romantic  history  of  which  the  Colonel 
had  been  the  hero,  this  impression  would  have  been 
natural,  or,  at  least,  explicable.  But  she  knew  noth- 
ing of  him  except  that  he  had  been  condemned  as  a 
spy  by  a  couucil  of  war,  and  yet  she  dreamed  of  him 
the  very  night  after  Leon's  return. 

This  inexplicable  prepossession  at  first  manifested 
itself  in  a  religious  form.  She  caused  a  mass  to  be 
said  for  the  repose  of  the  Colonel's  soul,  and  urged 
Leon  to  make  preparations  for  the  funeral,  herself 
selecting  the  ground  in  which  he  was  to  be  interred. 
These  various  cares  never  caused  her  to  omit  her 
daily  visit  to  the  walnut  box,  or  the  respectful  bend- 
ing of  the  knee  before  the  body,  or  the  sisterly  or 
filial  kiss  which  she  regularly  placed  upon  its  fore- 
head. The  Renault  family  soon  became  uneasy  about 
such  strange  symptoms,  and  hastened  the  interment 
of  the  attractive  unknown,  in  order  to  relieve  them- 
selves of  him  as  soon  as  possible.     But  the  day  be- 


48  THE   MAN    WITH 

fore   the  one  fixed  for  the   ceremony,  Clementine 
changed  her  mind. 

"  By  what  right  could  they  shut  in  the  tomb  a 
man  who,  possibly,  was  not  dead?  The  theories  of 
the  learned  Doctor  Meiser  were  not  such  that  one 
could  reject  them  without  examination.  The  matter 
was  at  least  worthy  of  a  few  days'  reflection.  Was 
it  not  possible  to  submit  the  Colonel's  body  to  some 
experiments  ?  Professor  Hirtz,  of  Berlin,  had  prom- 
ised to  send  some  valuable  documents  concerning 
the  life  and  death  of  this  unfortunate  officer :  noth- 
ing ought  to  be  undertaken  before  they  were  receiv- 
ed ;  some  one  ought  to  write  to  Berlin  to  hasten  the 
Bending  of  these  papers." 

Leon  sighed,  but  yielded  uncomplainingly  to  this 
new  caprice,  and  wrote  to  M.  Hirtz. 

Clementine  found  an  ally  in  this  second  cam- 
paign in  Doctor  Martout.  Though  he  was  but  an 
average  practitioner  and  disdained  the  acquisition 
of  practice  far  too  much,  M.  Martout  was  not  de- 
ficient  in  knowledge.  He  had  long  been  studying 
live  or  six  great  questions  in  physiology,  such  as  re- 
animation,  spontaneous  generation  and  the  topics 
connected  with  them.  A  regular  correspondence 
kept  him  posted  in  all  recent  discoveries;  he  was 
the  friend  of  M.  Pouchet,  of  Rouen;  aud  knew  also 
the  cele'irated  Karl  Nibor,  who  has  carried  the  use 
of  the  microscope  into  researches  so  wide  and  so 
profound.  M.  Martout  had  desiccated  and  resus- 
citated thousands  of  little  worms,  rotifers  and  tardi- 


THE   BROKEN   EAR.  49 

grades ;  he  held  that  life  is  nothing  hut  organization 
In  action,  and  that  the  idea  of  reviving  a  desiccated 
man  has  nothing  absurd  about  it.  He  gave  him- 
self up  to  long  meditations  when  Professor  Hirtz 
sent  from  Berlin  the  following  document,  the  original 
of  which  is  filed  among:  the  manuscripts  of  the 
Humboldt  collection 


CHAPTER  VTI. 

PROFESSOR   MEISER'S   WILL  IN   FAVOR   OF   ItfE   DESIC- 
CATED  COLONEL. 

On  this  20th  day  of  January,  1824,  being  worn 
down  by  a  cruel  malady  and  feeling  the  approach 
of  the  time  when  my  person  shall  be  absorbed  in  the 
Great  All ; 

I  have  written  with  my  own  hand  this  testament 
which  is  the  expression  of  my  last  will. 

I  appoint  as  executor  my  nephew  Nicholas  Mei- 
ser,  a  wealthy  brewer  in  the  city  of  Dantzic. 

I  bequeath  my  books,  papers  and  scientific  col- 
lections of  all  hinds,  except  item  3712,  to  my  very 
estimable  and  learned  friend,  Herr  Von  Humboldt. 

I  bequeath  all  the  rest  of  my  effects,  real  and 
personal,  valued  at  100,000  Prussian  thalers  or 
375,000  francs,  to  Colonel  Pierre  Victor  Fougas,  at 
present  desiccated,  but  living,  and  entered  in  my 
catalogue  opposite  No.  3712  (Zoology). 

I  trust  that  he  will  accept  this  feeble  compensation 
for  the  ordeals  he  has  undergone  in  my  laboratory, 
and  the  service  he  has  rendered  to  science. 

Finally,   in    order    that    my    nephew   Nicholas 


THE    MAX    WITH    THE    BtfOKEX    EAR.  51 

Meiser  may  exactly  understand  the  duties  I  leave 
him  to  perform,  I  have  resolved  to  inscribe  here  a 
detailed  account  of  the  desiccation  of  Colonel  Fouo-as, 
my  sole  heir. 

It  was  on  the  11th  of  November  in  that  unhappy 
year  1813,  that  my  relations  with  this  brave  young 
man  began.  I  had  long  since  quitted  Dantzic,  where 
the  noise  of  cannon  and  the  clanger  from  bombs  had 
rendered  all  labor  impossible,  and  retired  with  my 
instruments  and  books  under  the  protection  of  the 
Allied  Armies  in  the  fortified  town  of  Liebenfeld. 
The  French  garrisons  of  Dantzic,  Stettin,  Custrin, 
Glogau,  Hamburg  and  several  other  German  towns 
could  not  communicate  with  each  other  or  with  their 
native  land ;  meanwhile  General  Rapp  was  obsti- 
nately defending  himself  against  the  English  fleet  and 
the  Russian  army.  Colonel  Fougas  was  taken  by  a 
detachment  of  the  Barclay  de  Tolly  corps,  as  he  was 
trying  to  pass  the  Vistula  on  the  ice,  on  the  way  to 
Dantzic.  They  brought  him  prisoner  to  Liebenfeld 
on  the  11th  of  November,  just  at  my  supper  time, 
and  Sergeant  Garok,  who  commanded  in  the  village, 
forced  me  to  be  present  at  the  examination  and  act  as 
interpreter. 

The  open  countenance,  manly  voice,  proud  firm- 
ness and  fine  carriage  of  the  unfortunate  young  man 
won  my  heart.  He  had  n»ade  the  sacrifice  of  his  life. 
His  only  regret,  he  said,  was  having  stranded  so  near 
port,  after  passing  through  four  armies ;  and  being 
unable   to    carry   out    the   Emperor'*    orders.     He 


32  THE    MAX    WITH 

appeared  animated  by  that  French  fanaticism  which 
has  done  so  much  harm  to  our  beloved  Germany. 
Nevertheless  I  could  not  help  defending  him ;  and  I 
translated  his  words  less  as  an  interpreter  than  as  an 
advocate.  Unhappily,  they  found  upon  him  a  letter 
from  Napoleon  to  General  Rap p,  of  which  I  preserved 
a  copy : 

"  Abandon  Dantzic,  break  the  blockade,  unite 
with  the  garrisons  of  Stettin,  Custrin  and  Glogau, 
march  along  the  Elbe,  arrange  with  St.  Cyr  and  Da- 
voust  to  concentrate  the  forces  scattered  at  Dresden, 
Forgau,  Wittenberg,  Magdeburg  and  Hamburg ;  roll 
up  an  army  like  a  snow  ball;  cross  Westphalia, 
which  is  open,  and  come  to  defend  the  line  of  the 
Rhine  with  an  array  of  170,000  Frenchmen  which 
you  will  have  saved  ! 

"  Napoleon.  " 

This  letter  was  sent  to  the  head-quarters  of  the 
Russian  army,  whilst  a  half-dozen  illiterate  soldiers, 
drunk  with  joy  and  bad  brandy,  condemned  the 
brave  Colonel  of  the  23d  of  the  line  to  the  death  of 
a  spy  and  a  traitor.  The  execution  was  fixed  for  the 
next  day,  the  12th,  and  M.  Pierre  Victor  Fougas, 
after  having  thanked  and  embraced  me  with  the 
most  touching  sensibility,  (He  is  a  husband  and  a 
father.)  was  shut  up  in  the  little  battlemented  tower 
of  Liebenfehl,  where  the  wind  whistles  terribly 
through  all  the  loopholes. 


THE    BROKEN    EAR.  53 

The  nio-htof  the  11th  and  12th  of  November  was 
one  of  the  severest  of  that  terrible  winter.  My  self- 
registering  thermometer,  which  hung  outside  my 
window  with  a  southeast  exposure,  marked  nine- 
teen degrees  below  zero,  centigrade.  I  went  early 
in  the  morning  to  bid  the  Colonel  a  last  farewell, 
and  met  Sergeant  Garok,  who  said  to  me  in  bad 
German : 

"  We  won't  have  to  kill  the  Frantzouski,  he  is 
frozen  to  death." 

I  ran  to  the  prison.  The  colonel  was  lying  on 
his  back,  rigid.  But  I  found  after  a  few  minutes' 
examination,  that  the  rigidity  of  the  body  was  not 
that  of  death.  The  joints,  though  they  had  not 
their  ordinary  suppleness,  could  be  bent  and  ex- 
tended without  any  great  effort.  The  limbs,  the 
face,  and  the  chest  gave  my  hands  a  sensation  cf 
cold,  but  very  different  from  that  which  I  had  often 
experienced  from  contact  with  corpses. 

Knowing  that  he  had  passed  several  nights 
without  sleep,  and  endured  extraordinary  fatigues,  I 
did  not  doubt  that  he  had  fallen  into  that  profound 
and  lethargic  sleep  which  is  superinduced  by  intense 
cold,  and  which  if  too  far  prolonged  slackens  respi- 
ration and  circulation  to  a  point  where  the  most 
delicate  physiological  tests  are  necessary  to  discover 
the  continuance  of  life.  The  pulse  was  insensible; 
at  least  my  fingers,  benumbed  with  cold,  could  not 
feel  it.  My  hardness  of  hearing  (I  was  then  in  my 
sixty-ninth    year)    prevented    my    determining    by 


54  THE    MAN   WITH 

auscultation  whether  the  beats  of  the  heart  still 
aroused  those  feeble  though  prolonged  vibrations 
which  the  ear  continues  to  hear  some  time  after  the 
hand  fails  to  detect  them. 

The  colonel  had  reached  that  point  of  torpor 
produced  by  cold,  where  to  revive  a  man  without 
causing  him  to  die,  requires  numerous  and  delicate 
attentions.  Some  hours  after,  congelation  woidd 
supervene,  and  with  it,  impossibility  of  restoration 
to  life. 

I  was  in  the  greatest  perplexity.  On  the  one 
hand  I  knew  tha';  he  was  dying  on  my  hands  by 
congelation ;  on  the  other,  I  could  not,  by  myself, 
bestow  upon  him  the  attentions  that  were  indispen- 
sable. If  I  were  to  administer  stimulants  without 
having  him,  at  the  same  time,  rubbed  on  the  trunk 
and  limbs  by  three  or  four  vigorous  assistants,  I 
would  revive  him  only  to  see  him  die.  I  had  still 
before  my  eyes  the  spectacle  of  that  lovely  young 
girl  a^pnvxiated  in  a  fire,  whom  I  succeeded  in  re- 
viving by  placing  burning  coals  under  the  clavicles, 
but  who  could  only  call  her  mother,  and  died  almost 
immediately,  in  spite  of  the  administration  of  inter- 
nal stimulants  and  electricity  for  inducing  contrac- 
tions of  the   diaphragm  and  heart. 

And  even  if  I  should  succeed  in  bringing  him 
back  to  health  and  strength,  was  not  he  condemned 
by  court-martial?  Did  not  humanity  forbid  my 
rousing  him  from  this  repose  akin  to  death,  to  de- 
liver him  to  the  horrors  of  execution  ? 


THE    BROKEN"    EAR.  55 

I  must  confess  that  in  the  presence  of  this  organism 
■where  life  was  suspended,  my  ideas  on  reanimation 
took,  as  it  were,  fresh  hold  upon  me.  I  had  so  often 
desiccate  1  and  revived  beings  quite  elevated  in  the 
animal  scale,  that  I  did  not  doubt  the  success  of  the 
operation,  even  on  a  man.  By  myself  alone  I  could 
not  revive  and  save  the  Colonel ;  but  I  had  in  my 
laboratory,  all  the  instruments  necessary  to  desiccate 
him  without  assistance. 

To  sum  up,  three  alternatives  offered  themselves 
to  me.  I.  To  leave  the  Colonel  in  the  crenellated 
tower,  where  he  would  have  died  the  same  day  of 
congelation.  II.  To  revive  him  by  stimulants,  at 
the  risk  of  killing  him.  And  for  what  ?  To  give 
him  up,  in  case  of  success,  to  inevitable  execution. 
III.  To  desiccate  him  in  my  laboratory  with  the 
quasi  certainty  of  resuscitating  him  after  the  resto- 
ration of  peace.  All  friends  of  humanity  will  doubt- 
less comprehend  that  I  could  not  hesitate  long. 

I  had  Sergeant  Garok  called,  and  I  begged  him 
to  sell  me  the  body  of  the  Colonel.  It  was  not  the 
first  time  that  I  had  bought  a  corpse  for  dissection, 
so  my  request  exc'.ted  no  suspicion.  The  baigain 
concluded,  I  gave  him  four  bottles  of  kirsck-wassei', 
and  soon  two  Russian  soldiers  brought  me  Colonel 
Fougas  on  a  stretcher. 

As  soon  as  I  was  alone  with  him,  I  pricked  one 
of  his  fingers  :  pressure  forced  out  a  drop  of  blood. 
To  place  it  under  a  microscope  between  two  plates 
of  glass  was  the  work  of  a  minute.     Oh,  joy  !    The 


56  THE    MAN    WITH 

fibrin  was  not  coagulated.  The  red  globules  ap» 
peared  cleanly  circular,  flattened,  biconcave,  and 
without  notches,  indentations  or  spheroidal  swellings. 
The  white  globules  changed  their  shape,  taking  at 
intervals  the  spherical  form,  and  varying  their  shapes 
again  by  delicate  expansions.  I  was  not  deceived 
then,  it  was  a  torpid  man  that  I  had  under  my  eyes, 
and  not  a  dead  one  ! 

I  placed  him  on  a  pair  of  scales.  He  weighed 
one  hundred  and  forty  pounds,  clothing  included. 
I  did  not  care  to  undress  him,  for  I  had  noticed  that 
animals  desiccated  directly  in  contact  with  the  air, 
died  oftener  than  those  which  remained  covered 
with  moss  and  other  soft  materials,  during  the  ordeal 
of  desiccation. 

My  great  air-pump,  with  its  immense  platform,  its 
enormous  oval  wrought-iron  receiver,  which  a  rope 
running  on  a  pulley  firmly  fixed  in  the  ceiling  easily 
raised  and  lowered  by  means  of  a  windlass — all  these 
thousand  and  one  contrivances  which  I  had  so  la- 
boriously prepared  in  spite  of  the  railleries  of  those 
who  envied  me,  and  which  I  felt  desolate  at  seeing 
unemployed,  were  going  to  find  their  use!  Unex- 
pected circumstances  had  arisen  at  last  to  procure 
me  such  a  subject  for  experiment,  as  I  had  in  vain 
endeavored  to  procure,  while  I  was  attempting  to 
reduce  to  torpidity  dogs,  rabbits,  sheep  and  other 
mammals  by  the  aid  of  freezing  mixtures.  Long 
ago,  without  doubt,  would  these  results  have  been 
attained  if  I  had  been  aided  by  those  who  surround- 


THE    BROKEN    EAR.  0« 

ed  me,  instead  of  being  made  the  butt  of  their  rail- 
leries ;  if  our  authorities  had  sustained  me  with  their 
influence  instead  of  treating  me  as  a  subversive 
spirit. 

I  shut  myself  up  tete-a-tete  with  the  Colonel,  and 
took  care  that  even  old  Getchen,  my  housekeeper, 
now  deceased,  should  not  trouble  me  during  my 
work.  I  had  substituted  for  the  wearisome  lever  of 
the  old  fashioned  air-pumps,  a  wheel  arranged  with 
an  eccentric  which  transformed  the  circular  move- 
ment of  the  axis  into  the  rectilinear  movement  re- 
quired by  the  pistons:  the  wheel,  the  eccentric,  the 
connecting  rod,  and  the  joints  of  the  apparatus  all 
worked  admirably,  and  enabled  me  to  do  everything 
by  myself.  The  cold  did  Dot  impede  the  play  of  the 
machiue,  and  the  lubricating  oil  was  not  gummed: 
I  had  refined  it  myself  by  a  new  process  founded  on 
the  then  recent  discoveries  of  the  French  savant  M. 
Chevreul. 

Having  extended  the  body  on  the  platform  of  the 
air-pump,  lowered  the  receiver  and  luted  the  rim,  I 
undertook  to  submit  it  gradually  to  the  influence  of  ■ 
a  dry  vacuum  and  cold.  Capsules  filled  with  chloride 
of  calcium  were  placed  around  the  Colonel  to  absorb 
the  water  which  should  evaporate  from  the  body, 
and' to  promote  the  desiccation. 

I   certainly   found    myself  in  the  best   possible 

situation  for  subjecting  the  human  body  to  a  process 

of  gradual  desiccation  without  sudden  interruption  of 

the  functions,  or  disorganization  of  the   tissues  or 

3* 


58  THE    MAN    WITH 

fluids.  Seldom  had  my  experiments  on  rotifers  and 
tardigrades  been  surrounded  with  equal  chances  of 
success,  yet  they  had  always  succeeded.  But  the 
particular  nature  of  the  subject  and  the  special 
scruples  imposed  upon  my  conscience,  obliged  me  to 
employ  a  certain  number  of  new  conditions,  which  I 
had  long  since,  in  other  connections,  foreseen  the 
expediency  of.  I  had  taken  the  pains  to  arrange  an 
opening  at  each  end  oi'my  oval  receiver,  and  fit  into 
it  a  heavy  glass,  which  enabled  me  to  follow  with 
my  eye  the  effects  of  the  vacuum  on  the  Colonel.  I 
was  entirely  prevented  from  shutting  the  windows 
of  my  laboratory,  from  fear  that  a  too  elevated  ten* 
perature  might  put  an  end  to  the  lethargy  of  the 
subject,  or  induce  some  change  in  the  fluids.  If  a 
thaw  had  come  on,  all  would  have  been  over  with  my 
experiment.  But  the  thermometer  kept  for  severa 
days  between  six  and  eight  degrees  below  zero,  and 
I  was  very  happy  in  seeing  the  lethargic  sleep  con- 
tinue, without  having  to  fear  congelation  of  the 
tissues. 

I  commenced  to  produce  the  vacuum  with  extreme 
slowness,  for  fear  that  the  o-ases  distributed  through 
the  blood,  becoming  free  on  account  of  the  difference 
of  their  tension  from  that  of  rarified  air,  might  escape 
in  the  vessels  and  so  bring  on  immediate  death. 
Moreover,  T  watched,  every  moment,  the  effects  of 
the  vacuum  on  the  intestinal  gases, for  by  expanding 
inside  in  proportion  as  the  pressure  of  the  air  dimin- 
ished outatde  of  the  body,  they  could  have   caused 


THE   BROKEN   EAB.  59 

serious  disorders.  The  tissues  might  not  have  been 
entirely  ruptured  by  them,  but  an  internal  lesion 
would  have  been  enough  to  occasion  death  in  a  few 
hours  after  reanimation.  One  observes  this  quite 
frequently  in  animals  carelessly  desiccated. 

Several  times,  too  rapid  a  protrusion  of  the 
abdomen  put  me  on  my  guard  against  the  danger 
which  I  feared,  and  I  was  obliged  to  let  in  a  little  air 
under  the  receiver.  At  last,  the  cessation  of  all 
phenomena  of  this  kind  satisfied  me  that  the  gases 
had  disappeared  by  exosmose  or  had  been  expelled 
by  the  spontaneous  contraction  of  the  viscera.  It 
was  not  until  the  end  of  the  first  day  that  I  could 
give  up  these  minute  precautions,  and  carry  the 
vacuum  a  little  further. 

The  next  day,  the  13th,  I  pushed  the  vacuum  to  a 
point  where  the  barometer  fell  to  five  millimetres. 
As  no  change  had  taken  place  in  the  position  of  the 
body  or  limbs,  I  was  sure  that  no  convulsion  had 
been  produced.  The  colonel  had  been  desiccated, 
had  become  immobile,  had  lost  the  power  of  per- 
forming the  functions  of  life,  without  death  having 
supervened,  and  without  the  possibility  of  returning 
to  activity  having  departed.  His  life  was  suspended, 
not  extinguished. 

Each  time  that  a  surplus  of  watery  vapor  caused 
the  barometer  to  ascend,  I  pumped.  On  the  14th, 
the  door  of  my  laboratory  was  literally  broken  in  by 
the  Russian  General,  Count  Trollohub,  who  had  been 
Bent  from  headquarters.     This   distinguished   officer 


60  THE    MAX    WITH 

had  run  in  all  haste  to  prevent  the  execution  of  the 
colonel  and  to  conduct  him  into  the  pi-esence  of  the 
Commander  in  Chief.  I  loyally  confessed  to  him 
what  I  had  done  under  the  inspiration  of  my  con- 
science ;  I  showed  him  the  body  through  one  of  the 
bull's-eyes  of  the  air-pump ;  I  told  him  that  I  was 
happy  to  have  preserved  a  man  who  could  furnish 
useful  information  to  the  liberators  of  my  country  ; 
and  I  oifered  to  resuscitate  him  at  my  own  expense 
if  they  would  promise  me  to  respect  his  life  and  lib- 
erty. The  General,  Count  Trollohub,  unquestion- 
ably a  distinguished  man,  but  one  of  an  exclusively 
military  education,  thought  that  I  was  not  speaking 
seriously.  He  went  out  slamming  the  door  in  my 
face,  and  treating  me  like  an  old  fool. 

I  set  myself  to  pumping  again,  and  kept  the  va- 
dium at  a  pressure  of  from  three  to  five  millimetres 
for  the  space  of  three  months.  I  knew  by  experience 
that  animals  can  revive  after  beings  submitted  to  a 
dry  vacuum  and  cold  for  eighty  days. 

On  the  12th  of  February  1814,  having  observed 
that  for  a  mouth  no  modification  had  taken  place  in 
the  shrinking  of  the  flesh,  I  resolved  to  submit  the 
Colonel  to  another  series  of  operations,  in  order  to 
insure  more  perfect  preservation  by  complete  des- 
iccation. I  let  the  air  re-enter  by  the  stop-cock  ar- 
ranged for  the  purpose,  and,  after  raising  the  re- 
ceiver, proceeded  at  once  to  my  experiment. 

The  body  did  not  weigh  more  than  forty-six 
pounds  ;   I   had  then    reduced  it   nearly  to   a  third 


THE    BROKEN   EAE.  61 

of  its  original  weight.  It  should  be  borne  in  ruiud 
that  the  clothing  had  not  lost  as  much  water  as  the 
other  parts.  Now  the  human  body  contains  nearly 
four-fifths  of  its  own  weight  of  water,  as  is  proved 
by  a  desiccation  thoroughly  made  in  a  chemical  dry- 
ing furnace. 

I  accordingly  placed  the  Colonel  on  a  tray,  and, 
after  sliding  it  into  my  great  furnace,  gradually 
raised  the  temperature  to  75  degrees,  centigrade.  I 
did  not  dare  to  go  beyond  this  heat,  from  fear  of  al- 
tering the  albumen  and  rendering  it  insoluble,  and 
also  of  taking  away  from  the  tissues  the  capacity  of 
reabsorbing  the  water  necessary  to  a  return  to  their 
functions. 

I  had  taken  care  to  arrange  a  convenient  appara- 
tus so  that  the  furnace  was  constantly  traversed  bj 
a  current  of  dry  air.  This  air  was  dried  in  traversing 
a  series  of  jars  filled  with  sulphuric  acid,  quick-lime 
and  chloride  of  calcium. 

After  a  week  passed  in  the  furnace,  the  general 
appearance  of  the  body  had  not  changed,  but  its 
weight  was  reduced  to  forty  pounds,  clothing  inclu- 
ded. Eight  days  more  brought  no  new  decrease  of 
weight.  From  this,  I  concluded  that  the  desiccation 
was  sufficient.  I  knew  very  well  that  corpses  mum- 
mified in  church  vaults  for  a  century  or  more,  end 
by  weighing  no  more  than  a  half-score  of  pounds, 
but  they  do  not  become  so  light  without  a  material 
alteration  in  their  tissues. 

On  the  27th  of  February,  I  myself  placed  the 


62  THE    MAN    WITH 

colonel  in  the  boxes  which  I  had  had  made  for  his 
occupancy.  Since  that  time,  that  is  to  say  during  a 
space  of  nine  years  and  eleven  months,  we  have 
never  been  separated.  I  earned  him  with  me  to 
Dantzic.  He  stays  in  my  house.  I  have  never 
placed  him,  according  to  his  number,  in  my  zoologi- 
cal collection;  he  remains  by  himself,  in  the  cham- 
ber of  honor.  I  do  not  grant  any  one  the  pleasure 
of  re-using  his  chloride  of  calcium.  I  will  take  care 
of  you  till  my  dying  day,  Oh  Colonel  Fougas,  dear 
and  unfortunate  friend  !  But  I  shall  not  have  the  joy 
of  witnessing  your  resurrection.  I  shall  not  share  the 
delightful  emotions  of  the  warrior  returning  to  life. 
Your  lachrymal  glands,  inert  to-day,  but  some  day 
to  be  reanimated,  will  not  pour  upon  the  bosom  of 
your  old  benefactor,  the  sweet  dew  of  recognition. 
For  you  will  not  recover  your  life  until  a  day  when 
mine  will  have  long  since  departed  !  Perhaps  you 
will  be  astonished  that  I,  loving  you  as  I  do,  should 
have  so  long  delayed  to  draw  you  out  of  this  profound 
slumber.  Who  knows  but  that  some  bitter  reproach 
may  come  to  taint  the  tenderness  of  the  first  offices 
of  gratitude  that  you  will  perform  over  my  tomb  ! 
Fes!  T  have  prolonged,  without  any  benefit  to  you,  an 
experiment  of  general  interest  to  others.  I  ought  to 
have  remained  faithful  to  my  first  intention,  and  re- 
stored your  life,  immediately  after  the  signature  of 
peace.  l>ut  what  !  Was  it  well  to  send  you  back  to 
France  when  the  sun  of  your  father-land  was  obscur- 
ed by  our  soldiers  and  allies  ?    I  have  spared  you  that 


THE    BROKEN    EAB.  63 

spectacle — one  so  grievous  to  such  a  soul  as  yours 
Without  doubt  you  would  have  had,  in  March,  1815, 
the  consolation  of  again  seeing  that  fatal  man  to 
whom  you  had  consecrated  your  devotion  ;  but  are 
you  entirely  sure  that  you  Avould  not  have  been 
swallowed  up  with  his  fortune,  in  the  shipwreck  of 
Waterloo? 

For  five  or  six  years  past,  it  has  not  been  your 
welfare  nor  even  the  welfare  of  science,  that  pre- 
vented me  from  reanimating  you,  it  has  been  .  . 
.  .  Forgive  me,  Colonel,  it  has  been  a  cowardly 
attachment  to  life.  The  disorder  from  which  I  am 
suffering,  and  which  will'  soon  carry  me  off,  is  an 
aneurism  of  the  heart ;  violent  emotions  are  interdict- 
ed to  me.  If  I  were  myself  to  undertake  the  grand 
operation  whose  process  I  have  traced  in  a  memo- 
randum annexed  to  this  instrument,  I  would,  with- 
out any  doubt,  succumb  before  finishing  it ;  my 
death  would  be  an  untoward  accident  which  might 
trouble  my  assistants  and  cause  your  resuscitation 
to  fail. 

Rest  content !  You  will  not  have  long  to  wait, 
and,  moreover,  what  do  you  lose  by  waiting  ?  You  do 
not  grow  old,  you  are  always  twenty-four  years  of 
age ;  your  children  are  growing  up,  you  will  be 
almost  their  contemporary  when  you  come  to  life 
again.  You  came  to  Liebenfeld  pool*,  you  are  now 
in  my  house  poor,  and  my  will  makes  you  rich. 
That  you  may  be  happy  also,  is  my  dearest  wish. 

I  direct  that,  the  day  after  my  death,  my  nephew 


64       THE  MAN   WITH  THE  BROKEN  EAR. 

Nicholas  Meiser,  shall  call  together,  by  letter,  the 
ten  physicians  most  illustrious  in  the  kingdom  of 
Prussia,  that  he  shall  read  to  them  my  will  and  the 
annexed  memorandum,  and  that  he  shall  cause  them 
to  proceed  without  delny,  in  my  own  laboratory,  to 
the  resuscitation  of  Colonel  Fougas.  The  expenses 
of  travel,  maintenance,  etc.,  etc.,  shall  be  deducted 
from  the  assets  of  my  estate.  The  sum  of  two 
thousand  thalers  shall  be  devoted  to  the  publication 
of  the  glorious  results  of  the  experiment,  in  German, 
French  and  Latin.  A  copy  of  this  pamphlet  shall  be 
sent  to  each  of  the  learned  societies  then  existing  in 
Euroj)e. 

In  the  entirely  unexpected  event  of  the  efforts  of 
science  being  unable  to  reanimate  the  Colonel,  all 
my  effects  shall  revert  to  Nicholas  Meiser,  my  sole 
surviving  relative. 

John  Meiser,  M.  D. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

HOW   NICHOLAS    MEISER,    NEEHEW    OF    JOHN    MEISER, 
EXECUTED     HIS     UNCLE'S    WILL. 

Doctor  Hirtz  of  Berlin,  who  had  copied  this  will 
himself,  apologized  very  politely  for  not  having  sent  it 
sooner.  Business  had  obliged  him  to  travel  away 
from  the  Capital.  In  passing  through  Dantzic,  he 
had  given  himself  the  pleasure  of  visiting  Hen- 
Nicholas  Meiser,.  the  former  brewer,  now  a  very 
wealthy  land-owner  and  heavy  holder  of  stocks, 
sixty-six  years  of  age.  This  old  man  very  well 
remembered  the  death  and  will  of  his  uncle,  the 
savant;  but  he  did  not  speak  of  them  without  a 
certain  reluctance.  Moreover,  he  said  that  imme- 
diately after  the  decease  of  John  Meiser,  he  had 
called  together  ten  physicians  of  Dantzic  around  the 
mummy  of  the  Colonel ;  he  showed  also  a  unanimous 
statement  of  these  gentlemen,  affirming  that  a  man 
desiccated  in  a  furnace  cannot  in  any  way  or  by  any 
means  return  to  life.  This  certificate,  drawn  up  by 
the  professional  competitors  and  enemies  of  the 
deceased,  made  no  mention  of  the  paper  annexed  to 
the  will.  Nicholas  Meiser  swore  by  all  the  Gods 
(but  not  without  visibly  coloring)  that  this  document 


66  THE   MAN   WITH 

concerning  the  methods  to  be  pursued  in  resuscitating 
the  Colonel,  had  never  been  known  by  himself  or  his 
wife.  When  interrogated  regarding  the  reasons 
which  could  have  brought  him  to  part  with  a  trust 
as  precious  as  the  body  of  M.  Fougas,  he  said  that  he 
had  kept  it  in  his  house  fifteen  years  with  every 
imaginable  respect  and  care,  but  that  at  the  end  of 
that  time,  becoming  beset  with  visions  and  being 
awakened  almost  every  night  by  the  Colonel's  ghost 
coming  and  pulling  at  his  feet,  he  concluded  to  sell 
it  for  twenty  crowns  to  a  Berlin  amateur.  Since  he 
had  been  rid  of  this  dismal  neighbor,  he  had  slept  a 
great  deal  better,  but  not  entirely  well  yet ;  for  it 
had  been  impossible  for  him  to  forget  the  apparition 
of  the  Colonel. 

To  these  revelations,  Herr  Hirtz,  physician  to  His 
Royal  Highness  the  Prince  Regent  of  Prussia,  added 
some  remarks  of  his  own.  He  did  not  think  that  the 
resuscitation  of  a  healthy  man,  desiccated  with  pre- 
caution, was  impossible  in  theory ;  he  thought  also, 
that  the  process  of  desiccation  indicated  by  the 
illustrious  John  Meiser  was  the  best  to  follow.  But 
in  the  present  case,  it  did  not  appear  to  him  probable 
that  Colonel  Fougas  could  be  called  back  to  life ; 
the  atmospheric  influences  and  the  variations  of  tem- 
perature which  he  had  undergone  during  a  period  of 
forty  six  years,  must  have  altered  the  fluids  and  the 
tissues. 

This  was  also  the  opinion  of  M.  Renault  and  hia 
son.     To  quiet  Clementine's  excitement  a  little,  they 


THE    BK0KEX    EAR.  67 

read  to  her  the  concluding  paragraphs  of  Prof. 
Hirtz'  letter.  They  kept  from  her  John  Meiser'a 
will,  which  could  have  done  nothing  but  excite  her. 
But  the  little  imagination  worked  on  without 
cessation,  do  what  they  would  to  quiet  it.  Clemen- 
tine now  sought  the  company  of  Doctor  Martout,  she 
held  discussions  with  him  and  wanted  to  see  experi- 
ments in  the  resuscitation  of  rotifers.  When  she  got 
home  again,  she  would  think  a  little  about  Leon  and  a 
great  deal  about  the  Colonel.  The  project  of  marriage 
was  still  entertained,  but  no  one  ventured  to  speak 
about  the  publication  of  the  bans.  To  the  most  touch- 
ing endearments  of  her  betrothed,  the  young  fiancee 
responded  with  disquisitions  on  the  vital  principle. 
Her  visits  to  the  Renaults1  house  were  paid  less  to  the 
living  than  to  the  dead.  All  the  arguments  they  put 
in  use  to  cure  her  of  a  foolish  hope  served  only  to 
throw  her  into  a  profound  melancholy.  Her  beautiful 
connexion  grew  pale,  the  brilliancy  of  her  glance 
died  away.  Undermined  by  a  hidden  disorder,  she 
lost  the  amiable  vivacity  which  had  appeared  to  be 
the  sparkling  of  youth  and  joy.  The  change  must 
have  been  very  noticeable,  for  even  Mile.  Sambucco, 
who  had  not  a  mother's  eyes,  was  troubled  about  it. 

M.  Martout,  satisfied  that  this  malady  of  the  spirit 
would  not  yield  to  any  but  a  moral  treatment,  came 
to  see  her  one  morning,  and  said : 

"  My  dear  child,  although  I  cannot  well  explain 
to  myself  the  great  interest  that  you  take  in  this 
mummy,  I  have  done  something  for  it  and  for  you. 


68  THE    MAN   WITH 

I  am  going  to  send  the  little  piece  of  ear  that  Leon 
broke  off  to  M.  Karl  Nibor.  " 

Clementine  opened  all  her  eyes. 

"Don't  you  understand  me?"  continued  the 
Doctor.  "The  thing  is,  to  find  out  whether  the 
humors  and  tissues  of  the  Colonel  have  undergone 
material  alterations.  M.  Mbor,  with  his  microscope, 
will  tell  us  the  state  of  things.  One  can  rely  upon 
him :  he  is  an  infallible  genius.  His  answer  will  tell 
us  if  it  be  well  to  proceed  to  the  resuscitation  of  our 
man,  or  whether  nothing  is  left  but  to  bury  him. " 

"  What !  "  cried  the  young  girl.  "  One  can  tell 
whether  a  man  is  dead  or  living,  by  sample  ?  " 

"Nothing  more  is  required  by  Doctor  Nibor. 
Forget  your  anxieties,  then,  for  a  week.  As  soon 
as  the  answer  comes,  I  will  give  it  to  you  to  read. 
I  have  stimulated  the  curiosity  of  the  great  physiolo- 
gist :  he  knows  absolutely  nothing  about  the  frag- 
ment I  send  him.  But  if,  to  suppose  an  impossibility, 
he  tells  us  that  the  piece  of  ear  belongs  to  a  sound 
being,  I  will  beg  him  to  come  to  Fontainebleau  and 
help  us  restore  his  life." 

This  vague  glimmer  of  hope  dissipated  Clemen- 
tine's melancholy,  and  brought  back  her  buoyant 
health.  She  again  began  to  sing  and  laugh  and 
flutter  about  the  garden  at  her  aunt's,  and  the  house 
at  M.  Renault's.  The  tender  communings  began 
again,  the  wedding  was  once  more  talked  over,  and 
the  first  ban  was  published. 

"At  last,"  said  Leon,  "I  have  found  her  again." 


THE    BROKEN    EAR.  G9 

But  Madame  Renault,  that  wise  and  cautious 
mother,  shook  her  head  sadly. 

"  All  this  goes  but  half  well,"  said  she.  "  I  do 
not  like  to  have  my  daughter-in-law  so  absorbed  with 
that  haudsome  dried-up  fellow.  What  are  we  to  ex- 
pect when  she  knows  that  it  is  impossible  to  bring  him 
to  life  again  ?  Will  the  black  butterflies1  then  fly 
away?  And  suppose  they  happen,  by  a  miracle,  to 
reanimate  him  !  are  you  sure  she  will  not  fall  in  love 
with  him  ?  Indeed,  Leon  must  have  thought  it  very 
necessary  to  buy  this  mummy,  and  I  call  it  money 
well  invested ! " 

One  Sunday  morning  M.  Martout  rushed  in  upon 
the  old  professor,  shouting  victory. 

Here  is  the  answer  which  had  come  to  him  from 
Paris : — 

"  My  dear  confrere : 

"I  have  received  your  letter,  and  the  little  fragment  of  tissue 
whose  nature  you  asked  me  to  determine.  It  did  not  cost  me  much 
trouble  to  find  out  the  matter  in  question.  I  have  done  more 
difficult  things  twenty  times,  in  the  coarse  of  experiments  relating  to 
medical  jurisprudence.  You  could  have  saved  yourself  the  use  of 
the  established  formula  :  "When  you  shall  have  made  your  micro- 
scopic examination,  I  will  tell  you  what  it  is.  "  These  little  tricks 
amount  to  nothing :  my  microscope  knows  better  than  you  do  what 
you  have  sent  me.  You  know  the  form  and  color  of  things :  it  sees 
their  inmost  nature,  the  laws  of  their  being,  the  conditions  of  their 
life  and  death. 

"  Your  fragment  of  desiccated  matter,  half  as  broad  as  my  nail 
and  nearly  as  thick,  after  remaining  for  twenty-four  hours  under  a 
bell-glass  in  an  atmosphere  saturated  with  water  at  the  temperature 


70  THE   MAN   WITH 

of  the  human  body,  became  supple — so  much  so  as  to  be  a  little 
elastic.  I  could  consequently  dissect  it,  study  it  like  a  piece  of 
fresh  flesh,  and  put  under  the  microscope  each  one  of  its  parts 
that  appeared  different,  in  consistency  or  color,  from  the  rest. 

"  I  at  once  found,  in  the  middle,  a  slight  portion  harder  and 
more  elastic  than  the  rest,  which  presented  the  texture  and  cellular 
structure  of  cartilage.  This  was  neither  the  cartilage  of  the  nose, 
nor  the  cartilage  of  an  articulation,  but  certainly  the  fibro-cartilage 
of  the  ear.  Tou  sent  me,  then,  the  end  of  an  ear,  and  it  is  not  the 
lower  end — the  lobe  which  women  pierce  to  put  their  gold  orna- 
ments in,  but  the  upper  end,  into  which  the  cartilage  extends. 

"  On  the  inner-side,  I  took  off  a  fine  skin,  in  which  the  micro- 
scope showed  me  an  epidermis,  delicate,  perfectly  intact;  a  derma 
no  less  intact,  with  little  papilla)  and,  moreover,  covered  with  a 
lot  of  fine  human  hairs.  Each  of  these  little  hairs  had  its  root 
imbedded  in  its  follicle,  and  the  follicle  accompanied  by  its  two 
little  glands.  I  will  tell  you  even  more :  these  hairs  of  down 
were  from  four  to  five  millimetres  long,  by  from  three  to  five 
hundredths  of  a  millimetre  in  diameter  ;  this  is  twice  the  size  of 
the  pretty  down  which  grows  on  a  feminine  ear  ;  from  which  I 
conclude  that  your  piece  of  ear  belongs  to  a  man. 

"Against  the  curved  edge  of  the  cartilage,  I  found  delicate 
striated  bunches  of  the  muscle  of  the  helix,  and  so  perfectly  intact 
that  one  would  have  said  there  was  nothing  to  prevent  their  con- 
tracting. Under  the  skin  and  near  the  muscles,  I  found  several 
little  nervous  filaments,  each  one  composed  of  eight  or  ten  tubes  in 
which  the  medulla  was  as  intact  and  homogeneous  as  in  nerves 
removed  from  a  living  animal  or  taken  from  an  amputated  limb. 
Are  you  satisfied  ?  Do  you  cry  mercy  ?  Well !  As  for  me,  I  am 
not  yet  at  the  end  of  my  string. 

"  In  the  cellular  tissue  interposed  between  (he  cartilage  and  the 
skin,  I  found  little  arteries  and  little  veins  whose  structure  was 
perfectly  cognizable.  They  contained  some  serum  with  red  blood 
globules.  These  globules  were  all  of  them  circular,  biconcave  and 
perfectly   regular ;   they   showed    neither    indentations    nor    that 


THE    BROKEN    EAR.  71 

raspberry-like  appearance  which  characterizes  the  blood  globules 
of  a  corpse. 

To  sum  up,  my  dear  confrere,  I  have  found  in  this  fragment 
nearly  everything  that  is  found  in  the  human  body — cartilage, 
muscle,  nerve,  skin,  hairs,  glands,  blood,  etc.,  and  all  this  in  a 
perfectly  healthy  and  normal  state.  It  is  not,  then,  a  piece  of 
a  corpse  which  you  sent  me,  but  a  piece  of  a  living  man,  whose 
humors  and  tissues  are  in  no  way  decomposed. 

"With  high  consideration,  yours, 

"Karl  Nibob. 
"Paris,  July  30th,  1859." 


CHAPTER  IX. 

CONSIDERABLE    OF   A   DISTURBANCE   IN   PONTAINE- 

BLEAF. 

It  did  not  take  long  to  get  spread  about  the  town 
that  M.  Martout  and  the  Messieurs  Renault,  intend- 
ed, in  conjunction  with  several  Paris  savans,  to  re- 
suscitate a  dead  man. 

M.  Martout  had  sent  a  detailed  account  of  the 
case  to  the  celebrated  Karl  Nibor,  who  had  hastened 
to  lay  it  before  the  Biological  Society.  A  committee 
was  forthwith  appointed  to  accompany  M.  Nibor  to 
Fontainebleau.  The  six  commissioners  and  the  re- 
porter agreed  to  leave  Paris  the  15th  of  August,2 
being  glad  to  escape  the  din  of  the  public  rejoicings. 
M.  Martout  was  notified  to  get  things  ready  for  the 
experiment,  which  would  probably  last  not  less  than 
three  days. 

Some  of  the  Paris  papers  announced  this  great 
event  among  their  "Miscellaneous  Items,"  but  the 
public  paid  little  attention  to  it.  The  grand  recep- 
tion of.  the  army  returning  from  Italy  engrossed 
everybody's  interest,  and  moreover,  the  French  do 
not  put  more  than  mofl crate  faith  in  miracles  prom- 
ised in  the  newspapers. 


THE   MAN    WITH   THE   BROKEN   EAJR.  "i  3 

But  at  Fontainebleau,  it  was  an  entirely  differ- 
ent matter.  Not  only  Monsieur  Martout  and  the 
Messieurs  Renault,  but  Iff.  Audret,  the  architect,  M. 
Bonnivet,  the  no*tary,  and  a  dozen  other  of  the  big 
wio-s  of  the  town,  had  seen  and  touched  the  mummy 
of  the  Colonel.  They  had  spoken  about  it  to  their 
friends,  had  described  it  to  the  best  of  their  ability, 
and  had  recounted  its  history.  Two  or  three  copies 
of  Herr  Meiser's  will  were  circulating  from  hand  to 
hand.  The  question  of  reanimations  was  the  order  of 
the  day  ;  they  discussed  it  around  the  fish-pond,  like 
the  Academy  of  Sciences  at  a  full  meeting.  Even 
in  the  market-place  you  could  have  heard  them  talk- 
ing about  rotifers  and  tardigrades. 

It  must  be  admitted  that  the  resuscitationists 
were  not  in  the  majority.  A  few  professors  of  the 
college,  noted  for  the  paradoxical  character  of  their 
minds;  a  few  lovers  of  the  marvellous,  who  had  been 
duly  convicted  of  table-tipping;  and,  to  top  off  with- 
a  half  dozen  of  those  old  white-moustached  grum- 
blers who  believe  that  the  death  of  Napoleon  I.  is  a 
calumnious  lie  set  afloat  by  the  English,  constituted 
the  whole  of  the  army.  M.  Martout  had  against 
him  not  only  the  skeptics,  but  the  innumerable 
crowd  of  believers,  in  the  bargain.  One  party 
turned  him  to  ridicule,  the  others  proclaimed  him 
revolutionary,  dangerous,  and  an  enemy  ol"  the  funda- 
mental ideas  on  which  society  rests.  The  minister 
of  one  little  church  preached,  in  inuendoes,  against 
the  Prometheuses  who  aspired  to  usurp  the  prerog- 
4 


74  THE    MAN    WITH 

atives  of  Heaven.  But  the  rector  of  the  parish  did 
not  hesitate  to  say,  in  five  or  six  houses,  that  the 
cure  of  a  man  as  desperately  sick  as  M.  Fougas, 
would  be  an  evidence  of  the  power  and  mercy  of 
God. 

The  garrison  of  Fontainebleau  was  at  that  time 
composed  of  four  squadrons  of  cuirassiers  and  the 
23d  regiment  of  the  line,  which  had  distinguished 
itself  at  Magenta.  As  soon  as  it  was  known  in 
Colonel  Fougas'  old  regiment  that  that  illustrious 
officer  was  possibly  going  to  return  to  the  world, 
there  was  a  general  sensation.  A  regiment  knows 
its  history,  and  the  history  of  the  23d  had  been  that 
of  Fougas  from  February,  1811,  to  November,  1813. 
All  the  soldiers  had  heard  read,  at  their  messes,  the 
following  anecdote : 

"On  the  27th  of  August,  1813,  at  the  battle  of 
Dresden,  the  Emperor  noticed  a  French  regiment  at 
the  foot  of  a  Russian  redoubt  which  was  pouring 
grape  upon  it.  He  asked  what  regiment  it  was,  and 
was  told  that  it  was  the  23d  of  the  line.  '  That's  im- 
possible ! '  said  he.  '  The  23d  of  the  line  never  stood 
under  fire  without  rushing  upon  the  artillery  thun- 
dering at  it.'  At  that  moment  the  23d,  led  by  Col- 
onel Fougas,  rushed  up  the  height  at  double  quick, 
pinned  the  artillerists  to  their  guns,  and  took  the  re- 
doubt." 

The  officers  and  soldiers,  justly  proud  of  this 
memorable  action,  venerated,  under  the  name  of 
Fougas,  one  of  the  fathers  of  the  regiment.      The 


THE   BROKEN   EAK.  7h 

idea  of  seeing  him  appear  in  the  midst  of  them, 
young  and  living,  did  not  appear  likely,  but  it  was 
already  something  to  be  in  possession  of  his  body 
Officers  and  soldiers  decided  that  he  should  be  in 
terred  at  their  expense,  after  the  experiments  of 
Doctor  Martout  were  completed.  And  to  give  him 
a  tomb  worthy  of  his  glory,  they  voted  an  assess 
ment  of  two  days'  pay. 

Every  one  who  wore  an  epaulette  visited  M. 
Renault's  laboratory ;  the  Colonel  of  cuirassiers 
went  there  several  times — in  hopes  of  meeting  Clem- 
entine. But  Leon's  betrothed  kept  herself  out  of 
the  way. 

She  was  happier  than  any  woman  had  ever  been, 
this  pretty  little  Clementine.  No  cloud  longer  dis- 
turbed the  serenity  of  her  fair  brow.  Free  from 
all  anxieties,  with  a  heart  opened  to  Hope,  she 
adored  her  dear  Leon,  and  passed  her  days  in  telling 
him  so.  She  herself  had  pressed  the  publication  of 
the  bans. 

"  We  will  be  married,"  said  she,  "  the  day  after 
the  resuscitation  of  the  Colonel.  I  intend  that  he 
shall  give  me  away,  I  want  him  to  bless  me.  That 
is  certainly  the  least  he  can  do  for  me,  after  all  I 
have  done  for  him.  It  is  cei'tain  that,  but  for  my 
opposition,  you  would  have  sent  him  to  the  museum 
of  the  Jardin  des  Plantes.  I  will  tell  him  all  this, 
Sir,  as  soon  as  he  can  understand  us,  and  he  will  cut 
your  ears  off,  in  his  turn  !     I  love  you  !  " 

"  But,"  answered  Leon,  "  why  do  you  make  my 


76  THE    MAN    WITH 

happiness  dependent  on  the  success  of  an  experi- 
ment ?  All  the  usual  formalities  are  executed,  the 
publications  made,  the  notices  given :  no  one  in 
the  world  can  prevent  our  marrying  to-morrow,  and 
you  are  pleased  to  wait  until  the  19th  !  What  con- 
nection is  there  between  us  and  this  desiccated  gen- 
tleman asleep  in  his  box  ?  He  doesn't  belong  to 
your  family  or  mine.  I  have  examined  all  your 
family  records  back  to  the  sixth  generation,  and  I 
haven't  found  anybody  of  the  name  of  Fougas  in 
them.  So  we  are  not  waiting  for  a  grandfather  to 
be  present  at  the  ceremony.  Who  is  he,  then  ?  The 
wicked  tongues  of  Fontainebleau  pretend  that  you 
have  a  penchant  for  this  fetich  of  1813  ;  as  for  me, 
who  am  sure  of  your  heart,  I  trust  that  you  will 
never  love  any  one  as  well  as  me.  However  they  call 
me  the  rival  of  the  Sleeping  Colonel  in  the  Wood." 

"  Let  the  fools  prate !  "  responded  Clementine, 
with  an  angelic  smile.  "  I  do  not  trouble  myself  to 
explain  my  affection  for  poor  Fougas,  but  I  love 
him  very  much,  that's  certain.  I  love  him  as  a 
father,  as  a  brother,  if  you  prefer  it,  for  he  is  almost 
as  young  as  I.  When  we  have  resuscitated  him,  I 
Avill  love  him,  perhaps,  as  a  son  ;  but  you  will  lose 
nothing  by  it,  dear  Leon.  You  have  in  my  heart 
a  place  by  itself,  the  best  too,  and  no  one  shall  take 
it  from  you,  not  even  Ae." 

This  lovers'  quarrel,  which  often  began,  and 
always  ended  with  a  kiss,  was  one  day  interrupted 
by  a  visit  from  the  commissioner  of  police. 


THE   BROKEN   EAB.  11 

This  honorable  functionary  politely  declined  to 
give  his  name  and  business,  and  requested  the  favor 
of  a  private  interview  with  young  Renault. 

"Monsieur,"  said  he,  when  he  saw  him  alone, 
"  I  appreciate  all  the  consideration  due  to  a  man 
of  your  character  and  position,  and  I  hope  you  will 
see  fit  not  to  interpret  unpleasantly  a  proceeding 
which  is  prompted  in  me  by  a  sense  of  duty." 

Leon  opened  his  eyes  and  waited  for  the  con- 
tinuation of  the  discourse. 

"  You  are  aware,  Monsieur,"  pursued  the  Com- 
missioner, "  of  what  is  required  by  the  law  concern- 
ing interments.  It  is  express,  and  admits  no  excep- 
tion. The  authorities  can  keep  their  eyes  shut,  but 
the  great  tumult  that  has  arisen,  and,  moreover, 
the  rank  of  the  deceased,  without  taking  into  ac- 
count the  religious  considerations,  put  us  under 
obligation  to  proceed  ....  in  conjunction  with 
you,  let  it  be  v/ell  understood  .  .  .  ." 

Leon  comprehended  little  by  little.  The  com- 
missioner finished  by  explaining  to  him,  always  in 
the  administrative  style,  that  it  was  incumbent  upon 
him  to  have  M.  Fougas  taken  to  the  town  ceme- 
tery. 

"But  Monsieur,"  replied  the  engineer,  "if  you 
have  heard  people  speaking  of  Colonel  Fougas,  they 
ought  to  have  told  you  withal  that  we  do  not  con- 
sider him  dead." 

"  Nonsense ! "  answered  the  Commissioner,  with  a 
slight  smile.     "Opinions  are  free.     But  the  doctor 


78  THE   MAN   WITH 

whose  office  it  is  to  attend  to  the  disposition  of  the 
dead,  and  who  has  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  the 
deceased,  has  made  us  a  conclusive  report  which 
points  to  immediate  interment." 

"Very  well,  Monsieur,  if  Fougas  is  dead,  we  are 
in  hopes  of  resuscitating  him." 

"So  we  have  been  told  already  Monsieu ',  hut, 
for  my  part,  I  hesitated  to  believe  it." 

"You  will  believe  it  when  you  have  seen  it; 
and  I  hope,  Monsieur,  that  that  will  be  before 
long." 

"But  then,  Monsieur,  have  you  fixed  everything 
in  due  form  ?  " 

"With  whom?" 

"  I  do  not  know,  Monsieur,  but  I  suppose  that 
before  undertaking  such  a  thing  as  this,  you  have 
fortified  yourself  with  some  legal  authorization." 

"  From  whom  ?  " 

"  But  at  all  events,  Monsieur,  you  admit  that  the 
reanimation  of  a  man  is  an  extraordinary  affair.  As 
for  myself,  this  is  really  the  first  time  that  I  ever 
heard  it  spoken  of.  Now  the  duty  of  a  well  regula- 
ted police,  is  to  prevent  anything  extraordinary 
happening  in  the  country." 

"  Let  us  see,  Monsieur.  If  I  were  to  say  to  you : 
'Here  is  a  man  who  is  not  dead;  I  have  a  well- 
founded  hope  of  setting  him  on  his  feet  in  three 
days;  your  doctor,  who  maintains  the  contrary,  de- 
ceives himself,'  would  you  take  the  resporsibility  of 
having  Fougas  buried  ?  " 


THE    BROKEN    EAR.  79 

"  Certainly  not !  God  forbid  that  I  should  take 
any  responsibility  of  any  kind  on  my  shoulders  !  Bui 
however,  Monsieur,  in  having  M.  Fougas  buried,  I 
would  act  in  accordance  with  law  and  order.  Now 
after  all,  by  what  right  do  you  presume  to  resusci 
tate  a  man?  In  what  country  is  resuscitation  cus- 
tomary ?  Where  is  the  precept  of  law  which 
authorizes  you  to  resuscitate  people  ?  " 

"Do  you  know  any  law  that  prohibits  it  ?  Now 
everything  that  is  not  prohibited  is  permitted." 

"  In  the  eyes  of  the  magistrates,  very  likely.  But 
the  police  ought  to  prevent  and  stem  disorder. 
Now  a  resuscitation,  Monsieur,  is  a  thing  so  unheard 
of  as  to  constitute  an  actual  disorder." 

"  You  will  admit,  nevertheless,  that  it  is  a  very 
happy  disorder." 

"  There's  no  such  thing  as  a  happy  disorder. 
Consider,  morever,  that  the  deceased  is  not  a  com- 
mon sort  of  a  man.  If  the  question  concerned  a 
vagabond  without  house  or  home,  one  could  use 
some  tolerance  in  regard  to  it.  But  this  is  a  soldier, 
an  officer,  of  high  rank  and  decorated  too ;  a  man 
who  has  occupied  an  exalted  position  in  the  army. 
The  army,  Monsieur!  It  will  not  do  to  touch  the 
army  !  " 

"  Eh  !  Monsieur,  I  touch  the  army  like  a  surgeon 
who  tends  its  wounds.  It  is  proposed  to  restore  to 
the  army  a  colonel.  And  you,  actuated  by  the  spirit 
of  routine,  wish  to  rob  it  of  one." 

"  Don't    get  so    excited,    Monsieur,   I    beg    of 


80  THE    MAN    WITH 

you,  and  don't  talk  so  loud :  people  can  hear  us. 
Believe  me,  I  will  meet  you  half  way  in  anything 
you  want  to  do  for  the  great  and  glorious  army  of 
my  country.  But  have  you  considered  the  religious 
question  ?  " 

"  What  religious  question  ?" 

"  To  tell  you  the  truth,  Monsieur  (hut  this  entirely 
between  ourselves),  what  we  have  spoken  of  so  far 
is  purely  accessory  and  we  are  now  touching  upon 
the  delicate  point.  People  have  come  to  see  me  and 
have  made  some  very  judicious  remarks  to  me.  The 
mere  announcement  of  your  project  has  cast  a  good 
deal  of  trouble  into  certain  consciences.  They  fear 
that  the  success  of  an  undertaking  of  this  kind  may 
strike  a  blow  at  the  faith,  may,  in  a  word,  scandalize 
many  tranquil  spirits.  For,  if  M.  Fougas  is  dead,  of 
course  it  is  because  God  has  so  willed  it.  Aren't  you 
afraid  of  acting  contrary  to  the  will  of  God,  in  resus- 
citating him  ?  " 

"  No,  Monsieur :  for  I  am  sure  not  to  resuscitate 
Fougas  if  God  has  willed  it  otherwise  ;  God  permits 
a  man  to  catch  the  fever,  but  God  also  permits  a 
doctor  to  cure  him.  God  permitted  a  brave  soldier 
of  the  Emperor  to  be  captured  by  four  drunken 
Russians,  condemned  as  a  spy,  frozen  in  a  fortress 
and  desiccated  under  an  air-pump  by  an  old  German. 
But  God  also  permitted  me  to  find  this  unfortunate 
man  in  a  junk-shop,  to  carry  him  to  Fontainebleau, 
to  examine  him  with  certain  men  of  science  and  to 
agree  with   them  upon   a   method    almost   sure   to 


THE    BROKEN   EAR.  81 

restore  him  to  life.  All  this  proves  one  thing — which 
is  that  God  is  more  just,  more  merciful  and  more 
inclined  to  pity  than  those  who  abuse  his  name  in 
order  to  excite  you. " 

"I  assure  you,  Monsieur,  that  I  am  not  in  the 
least  excited.  I  yield  to  your  reasons  because  they 
are  good  ones  and  because  you  are  a  man  of  consid- 
eration in  the  community.  I  sincerely  hope,  more- 
over, that  you  will  not  think  harshly  of  an  act  of  zeaJ 
•which  I  have  been  advised  to  perform.  I  am  a 
functionary,  Monsieur.  Nov,  what  is  a  functionary? 
A  man  who  holds  a  place.  Suppose  now  that  func- 
tionaries were  to  expose  themselves  to  the  loss  of 
their  places,  what  would  stand  firm  in  France? 
Nothing,  Monsieur,  absolutely  nothing.  I  have  the 
honor  to  bid  you  good  day  !  " 

On  the  morning  of  the  15th  of  August,  M.  Karl 
Nibor  presented  himself  at  M.  Renault's  with  Doc- 
tor Martout  and  the  committee  appointed  by  the 
Biological  Society  of  Paris.  As  often  happens  in  the 
rural  districts  the  first  appearance  of  our  illustrious 
savant  was  a  sort  of  disappointment.  Mme.  Renault 
expected  to  see,  if  not  a  magician  in  a  velvet  robe 
studded  with  gold,  at  least  an  old  man  of  extraor- 
dinarily grave  and  impressive  appearance.  Karl 
Nibor  is  a  man  of  middle  height,  very  fair  and  very 
slight.  Possibly  he  carries  a  good  forty  years,  but 
one  would  not  credit  him  with  more  than  tbirty-five. 
He  wears  a  moustache  and  imperial ;  is  lively,  a  good 

conversationist,  agreable  and  enough  of  a  man  of  the 
4* 


82  THE    MAN    WITH    THE    BROKEN    EAR. 

world  to  amuse  the  ladies.  But  Clementine  did  not 
have  the  pleasure  of  his  conversation.  Her  aunt 
had  taken  her  to  Moret  in  order  to  remove  her  from 
the  pangs  of  fear  as  well  as  from  the  intoxications 
of  victory. 


CHAPTER  X. 

HALLELUJAH  ! 

M.  Niboe  and  his  colleagues,  after  the  usual  com- 
pliments, requested  to  see  the  subject.  They  had  no 
time  to  lose,  as  the  experiment  could  hardly  last  less 
than  three  clays.  Leon  hastened  to  conduct  them  to 
the  laboratory  and  to  open  the  three  boxes  containing 
the  Colonel. 

They  found  that  the  patient  presented  quite  a 
favorable  appearance.  M.  Nibor  took  oif  his  clothes, 
which  tore  like  tinder  from  having  been  too  much 
.ilried  in  Father  Meiser's  furnace.  The  body,  when 
naked,  was  pronounced  entirely  free  from  blemish 
and  in  a  perfectly  healthy  condition.  No  one  would 
yet  have  guaranteed  success,  but  every  one  was  full 
of  hope. 

After  this  preliminary  examination,  M.  Renault 
put  his  laboratory  at  the  service  of  his  guests.  He 
offered  them  all  that  he  possessed,  with  a  munificence 
which  was  not  entirely  free  from  vanity.  In  case 
the  employment  of  electricity  should  appear  neces- 
sary, he  had  a  powerful  battery  of  Ley  den  jars  and 


84  THE   MAN   WITH 

forty  of  Bunsen's  elements,  which  were  entirely  new. 
M.  Nibor  thanked  him  smilingly. 

"  Save  your  riches,"  said  he.  "  With  a  bath-tub 
and  caldron  of  boiling  water,  we  will  have  every- 
thing we  need.  The  Colonel  needs  nothing  but  hu- 
midity. The  thing  is  to  give  him  the  quantity  of 
water  necessary  to  the  play  of  the  organs.  If  you 
have  a  small  room  where  one  can  introduce  a  jet  of 
vapor,  we  will  be  more  than  content. 

M.  Audret,  the  architect,  had  very  wisely  built 
a  little  bath-room  near  the  laboratory,  which  was 
convenient  and  well  lighted.  The  celebrated  steam 
engine  was  not  far  off,  and  its  boiler  had  not,  up  to 
this  time,  answered  any  other  purpose  than  that  of 
warming  the  baths  of  M.  and  Mme.  Renault. 

The  Colonel  was  carried  into  this  room,  with  all 
the  care  necessitated  by  his  fragility.  It  was  not 
intended  to  break  his  second  ear  in  the  hurry  of 
moving.  Leon  ran  to  light  the  fire  under  the  boiler, 
and  M.  Xibor  created  him  Fireman,  on  the  field 
of  battle. 

Soon  a  jet  of  tepid  vapor  streamed  into  the  bath- 
room, creating  around  the  Colonel  a  humid  atmos- 
phere which  was  elevated  by  degrees,  and  without 
any  sudden  increase,  to  the  temperature  of  the  human 
body.  These  conditions  of  heat  and  humidity  were 
maintained  with  the  greatest  care  for  twenty-four 
hours.  No  one  in  the  house  went  to  sleep.  The 
member's  of  the  Parisian  Committee  encamped  in  the 
laboratory.     Leon  kept  up  the  fire;  M.  Nibor,  M. 


y 


THE   BROKEX   EAR.  80 

Renault  and  M.  Martout  took  turns  in  watching 
the  thermometer.  Madame  Renault  was  making 
tea  and  coffee,  and  punch  too.  Gothon,  who  had 
taken  communion  in  the  morning,  kept  praying  to 
God,  in  the  corner  of  her  kitchen,  that  this  impious 
miracle  might  not  succeed.  A  certain  excitement 
already  prevailed  throughout  the  town,  but  one  did 
not  know  whether  it  should  be  attributed  to  the  fete 
of  the  15th,  or  the  famous  undertaking  of  the  seven 
wise  men  of  Paris. 

By  two  o'clock  on  the  16th,  encouraging  results 
were  obtained.  The  skin  and  muscles  had  recovered 
nearly  all  their  suppleness,  but  the  joints  were  still 
hard  to  bend.  The  collapsed  condition  of  the  walls 
of  the  abdomen  and  the  interval  between  the  ribs, 
still  indicated  that  the  viscera  were  far  from  having 
reabsorbed  the  quantity  of  water  which  they  had 
previously  lost  with  Herr  Meiser.  A  bath  was  pre- 
pared and  kept  at  a  temperature  of  thirty-seven  de- 
grees and  a  half.3  They  left  the  Colonel  in  it  two 
hours  and  a  half,  taking  care  to  frequently  pass  over 
his  head  a  fine  soonge  soaked  with  water. 

M.  Nibor  removed  him  from  the  bath  as  soon  as 
the  skin,  which  was  filled  out  sooner  than  the  other 
tissues,  began  to  assume  a  whitish  tinge  and  wrinkle 
slightly.  They  kept  him  until  the  evening  of  the 
16th  in  this  humid  room,  where  they  arranged  an 
apparatus  which,  from  time  to  time,  occasioned  a 
fine  rain  of  a  temperature  of  thirty-seven  and  a  half 
degrees.     A  new  bath  was  given  in  the  evening. 


86  THE   MAN   WITH 

During  the  night,  the  body  was  enveloped  in  flan 
nel,  but  kept  constantly  in  the  same  steaming  at- 
mosphere. 

On  the  morning  of  the  17th,  after  a  third  bath 
of  an  hour  and  a  half,  the  general  characteristics  of 
the  figure  and  the  proportions  of  the  body  presented 
their  natural  aspect :  one  would  have  called  it  a  sleep- 
ing man.  Five  or  six  curious  persons  were  admitted 
to  see  it,  among  others  the  colonel  of  the  23d.  In 
the  presence  of  these  witnesses,  M.  Nibor  moved 
successively  all  the  joints,  and  demonstrated  that 
they  had  recovered  their  flexibility.  He  gently 
kneaded  the  limbs,  trunk  and  abdomen.  He  partly 
opened  the  lips,  and  separated  the  jaws,  which  were 
quite  firmly  closed,  and  saw  that  the  tongue  had  re- 
turned to  its  ordinary  size  and  consistency.  He  also 
partly  opened  the  eyelids :  the  eye-balls  wei'e  firm 
and  bright. 

"  Gentlemen,"  said  the  philosopher,  "  these  are 
indications  which  do  not  deceive ;  I  prophesy  suc- 
cess. In  a  few  hours  you  shall  witness  the  first  man- 
ifestations of  life." 

"  But,"  interrupted  one  of  the  bystanders,  "  why 
not  immediately  ?  " 

"  Because  the  conjunctivae  are  still  a  little  paler 
than  they  ought  to  be.  But  the  little  veins  travers- 
ing the  whites  of  the  eyes  have  already  assumed  a 
very  encouraging  appearance.  The  blood  is  almost. 
entirely  restored.  What  is  the  blood  ?  Red  globules 
floating  in  serum,  or  a  sort  of  whey.     The  serum  in 


TIIE    BROKEN    EAR.  87 

poor  Fougas  was  dried  up  in  his  veins;  tlie  water 
which  we  have  gradually  introduced  bv  a  slow  en- 
dosmose  has  saturated  the  albumen  and  fibrin  of  the 
serum,  which  is  returned  to  the  liquid  state.  The 
red  globules  which  desiccation  had  agglutinated,  had 
become  motionless  like  ships  stranded  in  shoal  water. 
Now  behold  them  afloat  again  :  they  thicken,  swell, 
round  out  their  edges,  detach  themselves  from  each 
other  and  prepare  to  circulate  /in  their  proper  chan- 
nels at  the  first  impulse  which  shall  be  given  them 
by  the  contractions  of  the  heart." 

"  It  remains  to  see,"  said  M.  Renault,  "  whether 
the  heart  will  put  itself  in  motion.  In  a  hiving  man, 
the  heart  moves  under  the  impulse  of  the  brain,  trans- 
mitted by  the  nerves.  The  brain  acts  under  the  im- 
pulse of  the  heart,  transmitted  by  the  arteries.  The 
whole  forms  a  perfectly  exact  circle,  without  which 
there  is  no  well-being.  And  when  neither  heart  nor 
brain  acts,  as  in  the  Colonel's  case,  I  don't  see  which 
of  the  two  can  set  the  other  in  motion.  You  remem- 
ber the  scene  in  the  '  JEcole  des  femmesf  where 
Arnolphe  knocks  at,  his  door  ?  The  valet  and  the 
maid,  Alain  and  Georgette,  are  both  in  the  house. 
'  Georgette  ! '  cries  Alain. — '  Well  ? '  replies  Georg- 
ette.— '  Open  the  door  down  there  ! ' — '  Go  your- 
self! Go  yourself! ' — '  Gracious  me  !  I  shan't  go ! ' — 
'  I  shan't  go  either  ! ' — c  Open  it  right  away  ! ' — 
4  Open  it  yourself!'  And  nobody  opens  it.  lam 
inclined  to  think,  Monsieur,  that  we  are  attending  a 
performance  of  this  comedy.     The  house  is  the  body 


88  THE    MAN   WITH 

of  the  Colonel ;  Arnolphe,  who  wants  to  get  in,  ia 
the  Vital  Principle.  The  heart  and  brain  act  the 
parts  of  Alain  and  Georgette.  '  Open  the  door ! ' 
says  one. — '  Open  it  yourself! '  says  the  other.  And 
the  Vital  Principle  waits  outside." 

"  Monsieur,"  replied  Doctor  Nibor  smiling,  "  you 
forget  the  ending  of  the  scene.    Arnolphe  gets  angry, 


and  cries  out :  '  Whichever  of  you  two  doesn't  open 
the  door,  shan't  have  anything  to  eat  for  four  days  ! ' 
And  forthwith  Alain  hurries  himself,  Georgette  runs 
and  the  door  is  opened.  Now  bear  in  mind  that  I 
speak  in  this  way  only  in  order  to  conform  to  your 
own  course  of  reasoning,  for  the  term  '  Vital  Prin- 
ciple' is  at  variance  with  the  actual  assertions  of 
science.  Life  will  manifest  itself  as  soon  as  the  brain, 
or  the  heart,  or  any  one  of  the  organs  which  have 
the  capacity  of  working  spontaneously,  shall  have 
absorbed  the  quantity  of  water  it  needs.  Organized 
matter  has  inherent  properties  wdrich  manifest  them- 
selves without  the  assistance  of  any  foreign  principle, 
whenever  they  are  surrounded  by  certain  conditions. 
Why  do  not  M.  Fougas'  muscles  contract  yet? 
Why  does  not  the  tissue  of  the  brain  enter  into  ac- 
tion ?  Because  they  have  not  yet  the  amount  of 
moisture  necessary  to  them.  In  the  fountain  of  life 
there  is  lacking,  perhaps,  a  pint  of  water.  But  I 
shall.be  in  no  hurry  to  refill  it :  I  am  too  much  afraid 
of  breaking  it.  Before  giving  this  gallant  fellow  a 
final  bath,  it  will  be  necessary  to  knead  all  his  organs 
again,  to  subject  his  abdomen  to  regular  compressions, 


THE   BROKEN   EAB.  89 

in  order  that  the  serous  membranes  of  the  stomach, 
chest  and  heart  may  be  perfectly  disagglutinated  and 
capable  of  slipping  on  each  other.  You  are  aware 
that  the  slightest  tear  in  these  parts,  or  the  least  re- 
sistance, would  be  enough  to  kill  our  subject  at  the 
moment  of  his  revival." 

While  speaking,  he  united  example  to  precept 
and  kept  kneading  the  trunk  of  the  Colonel.  As  the 
spectators  had  too  nearly  rilled  the  bath-room,  making 
it  almost  impossible  to  move,  M.  Nibor  begged  them 
to  move  into  the  laboratory.  But  the  laboratory 
became  so  full  that  it  was  necessary  to  leave  it  for 
the  parlor :  the  Committee  of  the  Biological  Society, 
had  scarcely  a  corner  of  the  table  on  which  to  draw 
up  their  account  of  the  proceedings.  The  parlor 
even  was  crowded  with  people,  the  dining  room  too, 
and  so  out  to  the  court  yard  of  the  house.  Friends, 
strangers,  people  not  at  all  known  to  the  family, 
elbowed  each  other  and  waited  in  silence.  But  the 
silence  of  a  crowd  is  not  much  less  noisy  than  the 
rolling  of  the  sea.  Fat  Doctor  Mavtout,  apparently 
overwhelmed  with  responsibility,  showed  himself 
from  time  to  time,  and  surged  through  the  waves 
of  curious  people  like  a  galleon  laden  with  news. 
Every  one  of  his  words  circulated  from  mouth  to 
mouth,  and  spread  even  through  the  street,  where 
several  groups  of  soldiers  and  citizens  were  making 
a  stir,  in  more  senses  than  one.  Never  had  the  little 
"Rue  de  la  Faisanderie"  seen  such  a  crowd.  An 
astonished  passer-by  stopped  and  inquired: 


90  THE   MAN   WITH 

"  What's  the  matter  here  ?     Is  it  a  funeral  ?  " 

"  Quite  the  reverse,  Sir.  " 

"  A  christening,  then  ?  " 

"-With  warm  water !  " 

"  A  birth  ?  " 

"  A  being  born  again  !  " 

An  old  judge  of  the  Civil  Court  was  recounting 
to  a  deputy  the  legend  of  iEson  of  old,  who  was 
boiled  in  Medea's  caldron. 

"  This  is  almost  the  same  experiment,"  said  he, 
"  and  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  the  poets  have 
calumniated  the  sorceress  of  Colchis.  There  could 
be  some  fine  Latin  verses  made  appi*opriate  to  this 
occasion  ;  but  I  no  longer  possess  my  old  skill ! 

'  JFabula  Medeam  cur  crimine  carpit  iniquo  ? 
Ecce  novus  surgit  redivivus  vEson  ab  UDdis 
Fortior,  arma  petens,  juvenili  pectore  miles  ...  . , 

"Redivivus  is  taken  in  the  active  sense;  it's  a 
license,  or  at  least  a  bold  construction.  Ah !  Mon- 
sieur !  there  was  a  time  when  I  was,  even  among 
those  who  made  the  most  confident  attempts,  the 
man  for  Latin  verses !  " 

"  Corp'ral !  "  said  a  conscript  of  the  levy  of  1859. 

"  What  is  it,  Freminot  ?  " 

"  Is  it  true  that  they  are  boiling  an  old  soldier  in 
a  pot,  and  that  they  are  going  to  get  him  up  again. 
Colonel's  uniform  and  all  ?  " 

"  True  or  not,  subaltern,  I'll  run  the  risk  of  saying 
it's  true." 


THE    BROKEN"   EAJt.  91 

"  I  fancy,  with  all  proper  deference,  that  they 
trill  not  make  much  at  it." 

"  You  should  know,  Freminot,  that  nothing  is  im- 
possible to  your  superiors !  You  are  not  unaware 
even  now,  that  dried  vegetables,  on  being  boiled,  re- 
cover their  original  and  natural  appearance !  " 

"  But,  Corp'ral,  if  one  were  to  cook  them,  three 
days'  time,  they'd  dissolve  into  broth." 

"  But,  imbecile,  why  shouldn't  one  consider  old 
soldiers  hard  to  cook  ?  " 

At  noon,  the  commisioner  of  police  and  the 
lieutenant  of  gens-d'armes  made  way  through  the 
crowd  and  entered  the  house.  These  gentlemen 
hastened  to  declare  to  M.  Renault  that  their  visit  had 
nothing  of  an  official  character,  but  that  they  had 
come  merely  from  curiosity.  In  the  corridor,  they 
met  the  Sub-prefect,  the  Mayor  and  Gothon,  who  was 
lamenting  in  loud  tones  that  she  should  see  the 
government  lend  its  hand  to  such  sorceries. 

About  one  o'clock,  M.  Xibor  caused  a  new  and 
prolonged  bath  to  be  given  the  Colonel,  on  coming- 
out  of  which,  the  body  was  subjected  to  a  kneading 
harder  and  more  complete  than  before. 

"  Now,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  we  can  carry  M. 
Fougas  into  the  laboratory,  in  order  to  give  his 
resuscitation  all  the  publicity  desirable.  But  it 
will  be  well  to  dress  him,  and  his  uniform  is  in  tat- 
ters." 

"I  think,"answered  good  M.  Renault,  "that  the 
Colonel  is  about  my  size ;  so  I  can  lend  him  some  of 


92  THE   MAN   WITH 

my  clothes.     Heaven  grant  that  he  may  use  them ! 
But,  between  us,  I  don't  hope  for  it." 

Gothon  brought  in,  grumbling,  all  that  was  neces- 
sary to  dress  an  entirely  naked  man.  But  her  bad  hu- 
mor did  not  hold  out  befoi-e  the  beauty  of  the  Colonel: 

"Poor  gentleman  !  "  she  exclaimed,  "  he  is  young, 
fresh  and  fair  as  a  little  chicken.  If  he  doesn't  revive, 
it  will  be  a  great  pity  ! " 

There  were  about  forty  people  in  the  laboratory 
when  Fougas  was  carried  thither.  M.  Nibor, 
assisted  by  M.  Martout,  placed  him  on  a  sofa,  and 
begged  a  few  moments  of  attentive  silence.  During 
these  proceedings,  Mme.  Renault  sent  to  inquire  if 
she  could  come  in.     She  was  admitted. 

"  Madame  and  gentlemen,"  said  Dr.  Nibor,  "  life 
will  manifest  itself  in  a  few  minutes.  It  is  possible 
that  the  muscles  will  act  first,  and  that  their  action 
may  be  convulsive,  on  account  of  not  yet  being  regu- 
lated by  the  influence  of  the  nervous  system.  I 
ought  to  apprise  you  of  this  fact,  in  order  that  you 
may  not  be  frightened  if  such  a  thing  transpires. 
Madame,  being  a  mother,  ought  to  be  less  astonished 
at  it  than  any  one  else  ;  she  has  experienced,  at  the 
fourth  month  of  pregnancy,  the  effect  of  those  ir- 
regular movements  which  will,  possibly,  soon  be 
presented  to  us  on  a  larger  scale.  I  am  quite  hope- 
ful, however,  that  the  first  spontaneous  contractions 
will  take  place  in  the  fibres  of  the  heart.  Such  is 
the  case  in  the  embryo,  where  the  rhythmic  move- 
ments of  the  heart,  precede  the  nervous  functions." 


THE   BKOKEN   JEAK.  93 

He  again  began  making  systematic  compressions 
of  the  lower  part  of  the  chest,  rubbing  the  skin  with 
his  hands,  half  opening  the  eyelids,  examining  the 
pulse,  and  auscultating  the  region  of  the  heart. 

The  attention  of  the  spectators  was  diverted  an 
instant  by  a  hubbub  outside.  A  battalion  of  the  23d 
was  passing,  with  music  at  the  head,  through  the 
Rue  de  la  Faisanderie.  While  the  Sax-horns  were 
shaking  the  windows,  a  sudden  flash  mantled  on  the 
cheeks  of  the  Colonel.  His  eyes,  which  had  stood 
half  open,  lit  up  with  a  brighter  sparkle.  At  the 
same  instant,  Doctor  Nibor,  who  had  his  ear  ap- 
plied to  the  chest,  cried  : 

"  I  hear  the  beatings  of  the  heart !  " 

Scarcely  had  he  spoken,  when  the  chest  rose 
with  a  violent  inspiration,  the  limbs  contracted,  the 
body  straightened  up,  and  out  came  a  cry :  "  Vive 
VJUmpereur" 

But  as  if  so  great  an  effort  had  overtasked  his 
strength,  Colonel  Fougas  fell  back  on  the  sofa,  mur- 
muring in  a  subdued  voice  : 

"  Where  am  I  ?  Waiter  !  Bring  me  a  news- 
paper ! " 


CHAPTER  XL 

iVHEREIN     COLONEL      FOTTGAS     LEARNS     SOME     NEWS 
WHICH    WILL    APPEAR    OLD   TO    MY    READERS. 

Among  all  the  persons  present  at  this  scene,  there 
was  not  a  single  one  who  had  ever  seen  a  resuscita- 
tion. I  leave  you  to  imagine  the  surprise  and  joy 
which  reigned  in  the  laboratory.  A  triple  round 
of  applause,  mingled  with  cheers,  hailed  the  triumph 
of  Doctor  Nibor.  The  crowd,  packed  in  the  parlor, 
the  passages,  the  court-yard,  and  even  in  the  street, 
understood  at  this  signal,  that  the  miracle  was  ac- 
complished. Nothing  could  hold  them  hack,  they 
forced  the  doors,  cleared  all  obstacles,  upset  all  the 
philosophers  who  tried  to  stop  them,  and  finished  by 
pouring  into  the  chamber  of  Science. 

"  Gentlemen  !  "  cried  M.  Nibor,  "  Do  you  want 
to  kill  him  ?  " 

But  they  let  him  talk.  The  wildest  of  all  pas- 
sions, curiosity,  had  long  held  dominion  over  the 
crowd :  every  one  wanted  to  see,  though  at  the  risk 
of  crushing  the  others.  M.  Nibor  tumbled  down, 
M.  Renault  and  his  son,  in  attempting  to  help  him, 
were  thrown  on  top  of  him ;  Madame  Renault,  in 


THE    MAN    "WITH    THE    BROKEN    EAR.  95 

her  turn,  was  thrown  down  at  the  feet  of  Fougas, 
and  began  screaming  at  the  top  of  her  voice. 

"  Damnation  !  "  said  Fougas,  straightening  him- 
self up  as  if  by  a  spring,  '"these  scoundrels  will 
suffocate  us  if  some  one  doesn't  squelch  them ! " 
His  attitude,  the  glare  of  his  eyes,  and,  above  all, 
the  prestige  of  the  miraculous,  cleared  a  space 
around  him.  One  would  have  thought  that  the  walls 
had  been  stretched  or  that  the  spectators  had  slid 
into  one  another ! 

"  Out  of  here,  every  mother's  son  of  you  !  "  cried 
Fougas,  in  his  fiercest  tone  of  command.  A  tumult 
of  cries,  explanations,  and  remonstrances  was  raised 
around  him ;  he  fancied  he  heard  menaces,  he  seized 
the  first  chair  within  reach,  brandished  it  like  a 
weapon,  drove,  hammered,  upset  the  citizens,  sol- 
diers, officials,  savants,  friends,  sight-seers,  commis- 
sary of  police — everybody,  and  urged  the  human 
torrent  into  the  street  with  an  uproar  perfectly  inde- 
scribable. This  done,  he  shut  the  door  and  bolted  it, 
returned  to  the  laboratory,  saw  three  men  standing 
near  Madame  Renault,  and  said  to  the  old  lady, 
softening  the  tone  of  his  voice : 

"  Well,  good  mother,  shall  I  serve  these  three  like 
the  others  ?  " 

"  JSTo !  No  !  No  !  Be  careful ! "  cried  the  good 
old  lady.  "My  husband  and  my  son,  Monsieur,  and 
Doctor  Nibor,  who  has  restored  you  to  life." 

"  In  that  case  all  honor  to  them,  good  mother  ! 
Fougas  has  never  violated  the   laws  of  gratitucro 


96  THE   MAX   WITH 

and  hospitality.     As  for  you,  my  Esculapius,  give 
me  your  hand  !  " 

At  the  same  instant,  he  noticed  ten  or  a  dozen 
inquisitive  people  on  tiptoe  on  the  pavement  just 
by  the  windows  of  the  laboratory.  Forthwith  he 
marched  and  opened  them  with  a  precipitation 
which  upset  the  gazers  among  the  crowd. 

"  People,"  said  he,  "  I  have  knocked  down  a 
hundred  beggarly  pandours  who  respect  neither  sex 
nor  infirmity.  For  the  benefit  of  those  who  are  not 
satisfied,  I  will  state  that  I  call  myself  colonel  Fou- 
gas  of  the  23d.     And  Vive  VEmpereur  !  " 

A  confused  mixture  of  plaudits,  cries,  laughs, 
and  jeers,  answered  this  unprecedented  allocution. 
Leon  Renault  hastened  out  to  make  apologies  to  all 
to  whom  they  were  due.  He  invited  a  few  friends 
to  dine  the  same  evening  with  the  terrible  colonel, 
and,  of  course,  he  did  not  forget  to  send  a  special  mes- 
senger to  Clementine.  Fougas,  after  speaking  to  the 
people,  returned  to  his  hosts,  swinging  himself  along 
with  a  swaggering  air,  set  himself  astride  a  chair, 
took  hold  of  the  ends  of  his  moustache,  and  said  : 

"  Well !  Come,  let's  talk  this  over.  I've  been 
sick  then  ?  " 

"  Very  sick." 

"  That's  fabulous !  I  feel  entirely  well.  I'm 
hungry,  and,  moreover,  while  waiting  for  dinner,  I'll 
even  try  a  glass  of  your  schnick." 

Mme.  Renault  went  out,  gave  an  order,  and  re- 
turned in  an  instant. 


THE   BROKEN   EAR.  97 

"  But  tell  me,  then,  where  I  am,"  resumed  the 
colonel.  "  By  these  paraphernalia  of  work,  I  recog- 
nize a  disciple  of  Urania ;  possibly  a  friend  of  Monge 
and  Berthollet.  But  the  cordial  friendliness  im- 
pressed on  your  countenances  proves  to  me  that  you 
are  not  natives  of  this  land  of  sour-krout.  Yes,  I 
believe  it  from  the  beatings  of  my  heart.  Friends, 
we  have  the  same  fatherland.  The  kindness  of  your 
reception,  even  were  there  no  other  indications,  would 
have  satisfied  me  that  your  are  French.  What  acci- 
dents have  brought  you  so  far  from  our  native  soil? 
Children  of  my  country,  what  tempest  has  thrown 
you  upon  this  inhospitable  shore  ?  " 

"My  dear  Colonel,"  replied  M.  Nibor,  "if  you 
want  to  become  very  wise,  you  will  not  ask  so  many 
questions  at  once.  Allow  us  the  pleasure  of  in- 
structing you  quietly  and  in  order,  for  you  have  a 
great  many  things  to  learn." 

The  Colonel  flushed  with  anger,  and  answered 
sharply : 

"  At  all  events,  you  are  not  the  man  to  teach 
them  to  me,  my  little  gentleman  !  " 

A  drop  of  blood  which  fell  on  his  hand  changed 
the  current  of  his  thoughts  : 

"  Hold  on  !  "  said  he  ;  "  am  I  bleeding  ?  " 

"  That  will  amount  to  nothing ;  circulation  is  re- 
established, and  your  broken  ear " 

He  quickly  carried  his  hand  to  his  ear  and  said : 

"It's  certainly  so.     But  Devil  take  me  if  I  recol 
lect  this  accident !  " 
5 


98  THE   MAN  WITH 

"  I'll  make  you  a  little  dressing,  and  in  a  couple 
Df  days  there  will  be  no  trace  of  it  left ! " 

"  Don't  give  yourself  the  trouble,  my  dear  Hip- 
pocrates ;  a  pinch  of  powder  is  a  sovereign  cure  !  " 

M.  Nibor  set  to  work  to  dress  the  ear  in  a  little 
less  military  fashion.  During  his  operations,  Leon 
reentered. 

"  Ah  !  ah  ! "  said  he  to  the  Doctor,  "  you  are  re- 
pairing the  harm  I  did." 

"  Thun deration  !  "  cried  Fougas,  escaping  from 
the  hands  of  M.  Nibor  so  as  to  seize  Leon  by  the 
collar,  "  was  it  you,  you  rascal,  that  hurt  my  ear?" 

Leon  was  very  good-natured,  but  his  patience 
failed  him.     He  pushed  his  man  roughly  aside. 

';  Yes,  sir,  it  was  I  who  tore  your  ear,  in  pulling 
it,  and  if  that  little  misfortune  had  not  happened  to 
me,  it  is  certain  that  you  would  have  been,  to-day, 
six  feet  under  ground.  It  is  I  who  saved  your  life, 
after  buying  you  with  my  money  when  you  were 
not  valued  at  more  than  twenty-five  louis.  It  is  1 
who  have  passed  three  days  and  two  nights  in  cram- 
ming charcoal  under  your  boiler.  It  is  my  father 
who  gave  you  the  clothes  you  now  have  on.  You 
are  in  our  house.  Drink  the  little  glass  of  brandy 
Gothon  just  brought  you ;  but  for  God's  sake  give 
p  the  habit  of  calling  me  rascal,  of  calling  my 
mother  'Good  Mother,'  and  of  flinging  our  friends 
into  the  street  and  calling  them  beggarly  pandours!" 

The  colonel,  all  dumbfounded,  held  out  his  hand 
to  Leon,  M.  Renault  and  the  doctor,  gallantly  kissed 


THE   BROKEN"   EAR.  99 

the  hand  of  Mme.  Renault,  swallowed  at  a  gulp  a 
claret  glass  filled  to  the  brim  with  brandy,  and  said 
in  a  subdued  voice : 

"Most  excellent  friends,  forget  the  vagaries  of 
an  impulsive  but  generous  soul.  To  subdue  my  pas- 
sions shall  hereafter  be  my  law.  After  conquering 
all  the  nations  in  the  universe,  it  is  well  to  conquer 
one's  self." 

This  said,  he  submitted  his  ear  to  M.  Nibor,  who 
finished  dressing  it. 

"  But,"  said  he,  summoning  up  his  recollections, 
"  they  did  not  shoot  me  then  ?  " 

"  No." 

"  And  I  wasn't  frozen  to  death  in  the  tower?" 

"  Not  quite." 

"  Why  has  my  uniform  been  taken  off?  I  see  ! 
I  am  a  prisoner !  " 

"  You  are  free." 

"  Free  !  Vive  V  JEmpereur  I  But  then,  there's 
not  a  moment  to  lose  !  How  many  leagues  is  it  to 
Dantzic  ?  " 

"It's  very  far." 

"  What  do  you  call  this  chicken  coop  of  a 
town  ?  " 

"  Fontainebleau." 

" Fontainebleau  !     In  France?" 

"  Prefecture  of  Seine-et-Marne.  We  are  going  to 
introduce  to  you  the  sub-prefect,  whom  you  just 
pitched  into  the  street." 

"  What  the  Devil  are  your  sub-prefects  to  me  ? 


100  THE    MAN    WITH 

I  have  a  message  from  the  Empei'or  for  Genera] 
Rapp,  and  I  must  start,  this  very  day,  for  Dantzic. 
God  knows  whether  I'll  be  there  in  time  ! " 

"My  poor  Colonel,  you  will  arrive  too  late. 
Dantzic  is  given  up." 

"  That's  impossible  !     Since  when  ?  " 

"  About  forty-six  years  ago." 

"  Thunder !  I  did  not  understand  that  you  were 
mocking  me  !  " 

M.  Nibor  placed  in  his  hand  a  calendar,  and  said : 
"See  for  yourself !  It  is  now  the  17th  of  August, 
1859;  you  went  to  sleep  in  the  tower  of  Liebenfeld 
on  the  11th  of  November,  1813;  there  have  been, 
then,  forty-six  years,  all  to  three  .months,  during 
which  the  world  has  moved  on  without  you." 

"Twenty-four  and  forty-six;  but  then  I  would 
be  seventy  years  old,  according  to  your  statement !  " 

"  Your  vitality  clearly  shows  that  you  are  still 
twenty-four." 

He  shrugged  his  shoulders,  tore  up  the  calendar 
and  said,  beating  the  floor  with  his  foot :  "  Your 
almanac  is  a  humbug  !  " 

M.  Renault  ran  to  his  library,  took  up  half  a 
dozen  books  at  haphazard  and  made  him  read,  at 
the  foot  of  the  title  pages,  the  dates  1826, 1833, 1847, 
1858. 

"Pardon  me !"  said  Fougas,  burying  his  head  in 
his  hands.  "  What  has  happened  to  me  is  so  new  ! 
I  do  not  think  that  another  human  being  was  ever 
subjected  to  such  a  trial.     I  am  seventy  years  old! " 


THE   BROKEN   EAE.  101 

Good  Madame  Renault  went  and  got  a  looking- 
glass  from  the  bath  room,  and  gave  it  to  him,  say- 
ing : 

"Look!" 

He  took  the  glass  in  both  hands,  and  Avas  silently- 
occupied  in  resuming  acquaintance  with  himself, 
when  a  hand-organ  came  into  the  court  and  began 
playing  "  Partant  pour  la  Syrie  !  " 

Fougas  threw  the  mirror  to  the  ground,  and 
cried  out : 

"  What  is  that  you  were  telling  me  ?  I  hear  the 
little  song  of  Queen  Hortense  !  " 4 

M.  Renault  patiently  explained  to  him,  while 
picking  up  the  pieces  of  the  mirror,  that  the  pretty 
little  song  of  Queen  Hortense  had  become  a  national 
air,  and  even  an  official  one,  since  the  regimental 
bands  had  substituted  that  gentle  melody  for  the 
fierce  Marsellaise.  and  that  our  soldiers,  strange  to 
say.  had  not  fought  any  the  worse  for  it.  But  the 
Colonel  had  already  opened  the  window,  and  was 
crying  out  to  the  Savoyard: 

"  Eh  !  Friend  !  A  napoleon  for  you  if  you  will 
tell  me  in  what  year  I  am  drawing  the  breath  of  life  !" 

The  artist  began  dancing  as  lightly  as  possible, 
playing  on  his  musical  instrument. 

"  Advance  at  the  order  !  "  cried  the  Colonel,  "and 
keep  that  devilish  machine  still !  " 

"A  little  penny,  my  good  monsieur!" 

"  It  is  not  a  penny  that  I'll  give  you,  but  a  napo- 
leon, if  you'll  tell  me  what  year  it  is." 


102  THE    MAN    WITH 

"  Oh  but  that's  funny  !     Hi— hi— hi !  " 

"  And  if  you  don't  tell  me  quicker  than  this 
amounts  to,  I'll  cut  your  ears  off!  " 

The  Savoyard  ran  away,  but  he  came  back  pretty 
soon,  having  meditated,  during  his  flight,  on  the 
maxim:  " Nothing  risk  nothing;  gain." 

"  Monsieur,"  said  he,  in  a  wheedling  voice,  "  this 
is  the  year  Eighteen  Hundred  and  Fifty-nine." 

"  Good  !  "  cried  Fougas.  He  felt  in  his  pockets 
for  money,  and  found  nothing  there.  Leon  saw  his 
predicament,  and  flung  twenty  francs  into  the  court. 
Before  shutting  the  window,  he  pointed  out,  to  the 
right,  the  facade  of  a  pretty  little  new  building 
where  the  Colonel  could  distinctly  read 

AUDRET    ARCHTTECTE. 
MDCCCLIX. 

A  perfectly  satisfactory  piece  of  evidence,  and 
one  which  did  not  cost  twenty  francs. 

Fougas,  a  little  confused,  pressed  Leon's  hand, 
and  said  to  him  : 

"  My  friend,  I  do  not  forget  that  Confidence  is 
the  first  duty  from  Gratitude  toward  Beneficence. 
But  tell  me  oi'our  country !  I  tread  the  sacred  soil 
where  I  received  my  being,  and  I  am  ignorant  of 
the  career  of  my  native  land.  France  is  still  the 
queen  of  the  world,  is  she  not  ?" 

"  Certainly,"  said  Leon. 

"  How  is  the  Emperor  ?" 

"  Well." 


THE   BK0KEN   EAE.  103 

"  And  the  Empress  ?  " 

"  Very  well." 

"  And  the  King  of  Rome  ?  " 

"  The  Prince  Imperial?     He  is  a  very  fine  child." 

"  How  ?  A  line  child  !  And  yon  ha"ve  the  face 
to  say  that  this  is  1859  !" 

JVI.  Xibor  took  up  the  conversation,  and  explained 
in  a  few  words  that  the  reigning  sovereign  of  France 
was  not  Napoleon  L,  hut  Napoleon  III. 

"  But  then,"  cried  Fougas,  "  my  Emperor  ia 
dead  !  " 

"  Yes." 

"  Impossible  !  Tell  me  anything  you  will  hut 
that !     My  Emperor  is  immortal." 

M.  Nibor  and  the  Renaults,  who  were  not  quite 
professional  historians,  were  obliged  to  give  him  a 
summary  of  the  history  of  our  century.  Some  one 
went  after  a  big  book  written  by  M.  de  Norvins  and 
illustrated  with  fine  engravings  by  Raffet.  He  only 
believed  in  the  presence  of  Truth  when  he  could 
touch  her  with  his  hand,  and  still  cried  out  almost 
every  moment:  "That's  impossible!  This  is  not 
history  that  you  are  reading  to  me:  it  is  a  romance 
written  to  make  soldiers  weep  !  " 

This  young  man  must  indeed  have  had  a  strong 
and  well-tempered  soul,  for  he  learned  in  forty  min- 
utes all  the  woful  events  which  Fortune  had  scatter- 
ed through  eighteen  years,  from  the  first  abdication 
up  to  the  death  of  the  King  of  Rome.  Less  happy 
than  his  old  companions   n  arms,  he  had  no  interval 


104  THE   MAN   WITH 

of  repose  between  these  terrible  and  repeated  shocks, 
all  beating  upon  his  heart  at  the  same  time.  One 
could  have  feared  that  the  blow  might  prove  mortal, 
and  poor  Fougas  die  in  the  first  hour  of  his  recover 
ed  life.  But  the  imp  of  a  fellow  yielded  and  recov- 
ered himself  in  quick  succession  like  a  spring.  He 
cried  out  with  admiration  on  hearing  of  the  five  bat- 
ties  of  the  campaign  in  France  ;  he  reddened  with 
grief  at  the  farewells  of  Fontainebleau.  The  return 
from  the  Isle  of  Elba  transfigured  his  handsome  and 
noble  countenance ;  at  Waterloo  his  heart  rushed  in 
with  the  last  army  of  the  Empire,  and  there  shatter- 
ed itself.  Then  he  clenched  his  fists  and  said  be- 
tween his  teeth :  "  If  I  had  been  there  at  the  head 
of  the  23d,  Blucher  and  Wellington  would  have  seen 
another  fate  !  "  The  invasion,  the  truce,  the  martyr 
of  St.  Helena,  the  ghastly  terror  of  Europe,  the  mur- 
der of  Murat — the  idol  of  the  cavalry,  the  death  of 
Ney,  Bruno,  Mouton  Duvernet,  and  so  many  other 
whole-souled  men  whom  he  had  known,  admired,  and 
loved,  threw  him  into  a  sei-ies  of  paroxysms  of  rage, 
but  nothing  upset  him.  In  hearing  of  the  death  of 
Napoleon,  he  swore  that  he  would  eat  the  heart  of 
England  ;  the  slow  agony  of  the  pale  and  interesting 
heir  of  the  Empire,  inspired  him  with  a  passion  to 
tear  the  vitals  out  of  Austria.  When  the  drama 
was  over  and  the  curtain  fell  on  Schoenbi*unn,  he 
dashed  away  his  tears  and  said  :  "  It  is  well.  I  have 
lived  in  a  moment  a  man's  entire  life.  Now  show 
me  the  map  of  France  !  " 


THE   BROKEN    EAR.  105 

Leon  began  to  turn  over  the  leaves  of  an  atlas, 
while  M.  Renault  attempted  to  continue  narrating 
to  the  colonel  the  history  of  the  Restoration,  and  of 
the  monarchy  of  1830.  But  Fougas'  interest  was  in 
other  things. 

"  What  do  I  care,"  said  he,  "  if  a  couple  of  hun- 
dred babblers  of  deputies  put  one  king  in  place  of 
another  ?  Kings  !  I've  seen  enough  of  them  in  the 
dirt.  If  the  Empire  had  lasted  ten  years  longer,  I 
could  have  had  a  king  for  a  boot-black." 

AVhen  the  atlas  was  placed  before  him,  he. at  once 
cried  out  with  profound  disdain  :  "  That,  France  ! " 
But  soon  two  tears  of  pitying  affection  escaping 
from  his  eyes,  swelled  the  rivers  Ardeche  and  Gi- 
ronde.  lie  kissed  the  map  and  said,  with  an  emotion 
which  communicated  itself  to  nearly  all  present: 

"  Forgive  me,  poor  old  love,  for  insulting  your 
misfortunes.  Those  scoundrels  whom  we  always 
whipped  have  profited  by  my  sleep  to  pare  down 
your  frontiers ;  but  little  or  great,  rich  or  poor,  you 
are  my  mother,  and  I  love  you  as  a  faithful  son! 
Here  is  Corsica,  where  the  giant  of  our  age  was 
born  ;  here  is  Toulouse,  where  I  first  saw  the  light ; 
here  is  Nancy  where  I  felt  my  heart  awakened, 
where,  perhaps,  she  whom  I  call  my  JEgle  waits  for 
me  still !  France  !  Thou  hast  a  tenrple  in  my  soul ; 
this  arm  is  thine  ;  thou  shalt  find  me  ever  ready  to 
shed  my  blood  to  the  last  drop  in  defending  or 
aveno-ina  thee ! " 


5* 


CHAPTER   XII. 

THE   CONVALESCENT'S    FIRST   MEAL. 

The  messenger  whom  Leon  had  sent  to  Moret, 
could  not  reach  there  before  seven  o'clock.  Suppos- 
ing that  he  would  find  the  ladies  at  table  with  their 
hosts,  that  the  great  news  would  cut  the  dinner  short, 
and  that  there  would  be  a  carriage  handy,  Clemen- 
tine and  her  aunt  would  probably  be  at  Fontainebleau 
between  ten  and  eleven  o'clock.  Young  Renault 
rejoiced  in  advance  over  the  happiness  of  his  fiancee. 
What  a  joy  it  would  be  for  her  and  for  him  when  he 
should  present  to  her  the  miraculous  man  whom  she 
had  protected  against  the  horrors  of  the  tomb,  and 
whom  he  had  resuscitated  in  answer  to  her  entreaty ! 

Meanwhile  Gothon,  proud  and  happy  to  the  same 
degree  that  she  had  before  been  scandalized  and 
annoyed,  spread  the  table  for  a  dozen  persons.  Her 
yoke-fellow,  a  young  rustic  of  eighteen,  half-fledged 
in  the  commune  of  Sablons,  helped  her  with  all  his 
might,  and  amused  her  with  his  conversation. 


THE   MAN   WITH   THE   BROKEN    LAU.  107 

"  Well,  now,  Ma'm'selle  Gothon,"  said  he,  setting 
down  a  pile  of  empty  plates,  "  this  is  what  one  might 
call  a  ghost  coming  out  of  its  box  to  upset  the  com- 
missary and  the  sub-prefect !  " 

"  Ghost,  if  you'll  have  it  so,  Celestin  ;  it's  certain- 
sure  that  he  comes  from  a  good  ways,  poor  young 
man!  But  perhaps  '  ghost '  isn't  a  proper  word  to 
use  in  speaking  of  our  masters." 

"  Is  it  true,  then,  that  he  has  come  to  be  our 
master  too  ?  Too  many  of  them  come  every  day. 
I'd  like  it  better  if  more  servants  and  help  would 
come !  " 

"  Shut  up,  you  lizard  of  laziness  !  When  the  gen- 
tlemen leaves  tips  for  us  on  going  away,  you  don't 
complain  because  there's  only  two  to  divide  'em." 

"  That's  all  well  enough  as  far  as  it  goes !  I've 
carried  more  than  fifty  buckets  of  water  for 'him  to 
simmer  in,  that  Colonel  of  yours,  and  I  know  mighty 
well  that  he  won't  give  me  a  cent,  for  he  hasn't  a 
farthing  in  his  pockets.  We've  got  to  believe  that 
money  isn't  plenty  in  the  country  he  just  came 
from  !  " 

"  They  say  there's  wills  in  his  favor  in  Stras- 
burg  ;  a  gentleman  who'd  hurt  his  fortune " 

"  Tell  me  now,  Ma'm'selle  Gothon — you  who  read 
a  little  book  every  Sunday — where  he  could  have 
been,  our  Colonel,  wrhile  he  was  not  in  this  world." 

"  Eh  !     In  purgatory,  of  course  !  " 

"  Then  why  don't  you  ask  him  about  that  famous 
Baptiste,  your  sweetheart  in  1837,  who  let  himself 


4 


108  THE   MAN  WITH 

tumble  off  a  roof,  and  on  whose  account  you  have  so 
many  masses  said  ?  They  ought  to  have  met  each 
other  down  there  !  " 

"  That's  very  possible." 

"  Unless  Baptiste  has  left  there  since  the  time 
when  you  paid  so  much  money  to  get  him  out." 

"  Very  well.  I'll  go  this  very  evening  to  the 
Colonel's  chamber,  and,  since  he's  not  proud,  he'll 
tell  me  all  he  knows  about  it. — But,  Celestin,  are'nt 
you  never  going  to  act  different  ?  Here  you've  rub- 
bed my  silver  pickle  knives  on  the  grindstone  again  !  " 

The  guests  came  into  the  parlor,  where  the  Re- 
nault family  with  M.  Kibor  and  the  Colonel  were 
already  assembled.  There  were  successively  pre- 
sented to  M.  Fougas  the  mayor  of  the  city,  Doctor 
Martout,  Master  Bonnivelrthe  notary,  M.  Audret,  and 
three  members  of  the  Paris  committee ;  the  other 
three  had  been  obliged  to  return  before  dinner.  The 
guests  were  not  entirely  at  their  ease ;  their  sides, 
bruised  by  the  first  movements  of  Fougas,  left  room 
for  them  to  suppose  that  possibly  they  were  dining 
with  a  maniac.  But  curiosity  was  stronger  than  fear. 
The  Colonel  soon  reassured  them  by  a  most  cordial 
reception.  He  excused  himself  for  acting  the  part 
of  a  man  just  returned  from  the  other  world.  He 
talked  a  great  deal — a  little  too  much,  perhaps  ;  but 
they  were  so  well  pleased  to  listen  to  him,  and  his 
wTords  borrowed  such  an  importance  from  the  singu- 
larity of  recent  events,  that  he  gained  an  unqualified 
success.    He  was  told  that  Dr.  Martout  had  been  one 


THE    BROKEN    EAR.  109 

of  the  principal  agents  of  his  resuscitation,  in  con- 
junction with  another  person  whom  they  promised 
soon  to  present  to  him.  He  thanked  M.  Martout 
warmly,  and  asked  how  soon  he  could  evince  his 
gratitude  to  the  other  person. 

"  I  hope,"  said  Leon,  "  that  you  will  see  her  this 
evening." 

No  one  came  later  than  the  colonel  of  the  23d  of 
the  line,  M.  Rollon.  He  made  his  way  with  no  little 
difficulty  through  the  crowds  of  people  who  filled  the 
Rue  de  la  Faisanderie.  He  was  a  man  of  forty-five, 
with  a  quick  voice,  and  fuh  figure.  His  hair  was  a 
little  grizzled,  but  his  brown  mustache,  full,  and 
twisted  at  the  ends,  looked  as  young  as  ever.  He 
said  little,  spoke  to  the  point,  knew  a  great  deal,  and 
did  no  boasting — all  in  all,  He  was  a  fine  specimen  of 
a  colonel.  He  came  right  up  to  Fougas,  and  held  out 
his  hand  like  an  old  acquaintance. 

"My  dear  comrade,"  said  he,  "I  have  taken  great 
interest  in  your  resurrection,  as  much  on  my  own 
account  as  on  account  of  the  regiment.  The  23d, 
which  I  have  the  honor  to  command,  yesterday  ven- 
erated you  as  an  ancestor.  From  to-day,  it  will 
cherish  vou  as  a  friend." — Not  the  slightest  allusion 
to  the  affair  of  the  morning,  in  which  M.  Rollon  had 
undergone  his  pummelling  with  the  rest. 

Fougas  answered  becomingly,  but  with  a  tinge  of 
coldness : 

"  My  dear  comrade,  I  thank  you  for  your  kindly 
sentiments.     It  is  singular  that  Destiny  places  me  iD 


110  THE    MAN    WITH 

the  presence  of  my  successor  on  the  very  day  that  I 
reopen  my  eyes  to  the  light ;  for,  after  all,  I  am 
neither  dead  nor  a  general ;  I  have  not  been  trans- 
ferred, nor  have  I  been  retired  ;  yet  I  see  another 
officer,  more  worthy,  doubtless,  at  the  head  of  my 
noble  23d.  But  if  you  have  for  your  motto  '  Honor 
and  Courage,'  as  I  am  well  satisfied  you  have,  I  have 
no  right  to  complain,  and  the  regiment  is  in  good 
hands." 

Dinner  was  ready.  Mine.  Renault  took  Fougas' 
arm.  She  had  him  sit  at  her  right,  and  M.  Nibor  at 
her  left.  The  Colonel  and  the  Mayor  took  their 
places  at  the  sides  of  M.  Renault ;  the  rest  of  the 
company  distributed  themselves  as  it  happened,  re- 
gardless of  etiquette. 

Fougas  gulped  down  the  soup  and  entries,  helping 
himself  to  every  dish,  and  drinking  in  proportion. 
An  appetite  of  the  other  world  !  "  Estimable  Am- 
phitryon," said  he  to  M.  Renault,  "  don't  get  fright- 
ened at  seeing  me  fall  upon  the  rations.  I  always 
ate  just  so  ;  except  during  the  retreat  in  Russia. 
Consider,  too,  that  I  went  to  sleep  last  mght,  at  Lie- 
benfeld,  without  any  supper." 

He  begged  M.  Nibor  to  explain  to  him  by  what 
course  of  circumstances  he  had  come  from  Liebenfeld 
to  Fontainebleau. 

"  Do  you  remember,"  said  the  doctor,  "  an  old 
German  who  acted  as  interpreter  for  you  before  the 
court-martial  ?  " 

"  Perfectly.     An  excellent  man,  with  a  violet-col- 


THE    BROKEN    EAK.  1 1 J 

ored  wig.     I'll  remember  him  all  my  life,  for  ther: 
are  not  two  wigs  of  that  color  in  existence." 

"  Very  well ;  it  was  the  man  with  the  violet  wag 
otherwise  known  as  the  celebrated  Doctor  Meiser, 
who  saved  your  life." 

"  Where  is  he  ?  I  want  to  see  him,  to  fall  into 
his  arms,  to  tell  him " 

"  He  was  sixty-eight  years  old  when  he  did  you 
that  little  service  ;  he  would  then  be,  to-day,  in  his 
hundred  and  fifteenth  year,  if  he  had  waited  for  your 
acknowledgments." 

"  And  so,  then,  he  is  no  more  !  Death  has  robbed 
him  of  my  gratitude  !  " 

"  You  do  not  yet  know  all  that  you  owe  to  him. 
He  bequeathed  you,  in  1824,  a  fortune  of  seventy-five 
thousand  francs,  of  which  you  are  the  rightful  owner. 
Now,  since  a  sum  invested  at  five  per  cent,  doubles 
itself  in  fourteen  years — thanks  to  compound  interest 
— you  were  worth,  in  1838,  a  trifle  of  seven  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand  francs  ;  and  in  1852,  a  million  and 
a  half.  In  fine,  if  you  are  satisfied  to  leave  your  prop- 
erty in  the  hands  of  Herr  Nicholas  Meiser,  of  Dant- 
zic,  that  worthy  man  will  owTe  you  three  millions  at 
the  commencement  of  1866 — that  is  to  say,  in  seven 
years.  We  will  give  you,  this  evening,  a  copy  of 
your  benefactor's  will ;  it  is  a  very  instructive  docu- 
ment, and  you  can  consider  it  when  you  go  to  bed." 

"  I'll  read  it  willingly,"  said  Colonel  Fougas. 
"  But  gold  has  no  attractions  for  my  eyes.  Wealth 
engenders  weakness.    Me,  to  languish  in  the  sluggish 


112  THE   HAN"   WITH 

idleness  of  Sybaris  ! — to  enervate  my  senses  on  a  bed 
of  roses  !  Never  !  The  smell  of  powder  is  dearer  to 
me  than  all  the  perfumes  of  Arabia.  Life  would  have 
no  charm  or  zest  for  me,  if  I  had  to  give  up  the  in- 
spiriting clash  of  arms.  On  the  day  when  you  are 
told  that  Fondas  no  longer  marches  in  the  columns 
of  the  army,  you  can  safely  answer,  '  It  is  because 
Fousras  is  no  more  ! '  " 

He  turned  to  the  new  colonel  of  the  23d,  and 
said  : 

"  Oh  !  do  you,  my  dear  comrade,  tell  them  that 
the  proud  pomp  of  wealth  is  a  thousand  times  less 
sweet  than  the  austere  simplicity  of  the  soldier — of 
a  colonel,  more  than  all.  Colonels  are  the  kings  of 
the  army.  A  colonel  is  less  than  a  general,  but  never- 
theless he  has  something  more.  He  lives  more  with 
the  soldier ;  he  penetrates  further  into  the  intimacy 
of  his  command.  He  is  the  father,  the  judge,  the 
friend  of  his  regiment.  The  welfare  of  each  one  of 
his  men  is  in  his  hands  ;  the  flag  is  placed  under  his 
tent  or  in  his  chamber.  The  colonel  and  the  flag  are 
not  two  separate  existences  ;  one  is  the  soul,  the 
other  is  the  body." 

He  asked  M.  Rollon's  permission  to  go  to  see  and 
embrace  the  flag  of  the  23d. 

"  You  shall  see  it  to-morrow  morning,"  said  the 
new  colonel,  "  if  you  will  do  me  the  honor  to  break- 
fast with  me  in  company  with  some  of  my  officers.'1 

He  accepted  the  invitation  with  enthusiasm,  and 
flung  himself  into  the  midst  of  a  thousand  questions 


THE    BROKEN    EAR.  113 

touching  pay,  the  amount  retained  for  clothing,  pro- 
motion, roster,  reserve,  uniform,  full  and  fatigue  dress, 
armament,  and  tactics.  He  understood,  without  dif- 
ficulty, the  advantages  of  the  percussion  gun,  but  the 
attempt  to  explain  rifled  cannon  to  him  was  in  vain. 
Artillery  was  not  his  forte  ;  but  he  avowed,  never- 
theless, that  Napoleon  had  owed  more  than  one  vic- 
tory to  his  fine  artillery. 

While  the  innumerable  roasts  of  Mme.  Renault 
were  succeeding  each  other  on  the  table,  Fougas 
asked — but  without  ever  losing  a  bite — what  were 
the  principal  wars  in  progress,  how  many  nations 
France  had  on  her  hands,  and  if  it  was  not  intended 
ultimately  to  recommence  the  conquest  of  the  world  ? 
The  answers  which  he  received,  without  completely 
satisfying  him,  did  not  entirely  deprive  him  of  hope. 

"  I  did  well  to  come,"  said  he  ;  "  there's  work  to 
do." 

The  African  wars  did  not  interest  him  much, 
although  in  them  the  23d  had  won  a  good  share  of 
glory. 

"  As  a  school,  it's  very  well,"  said  he.  "  The  sol- 
dier ought  to  train  himself  in  other  ways  than  in  the 
Tivoli  gardens,  behind  nurses'  petticoats.  But  why 
the  devil  are  not  five  hundred  thousand  men  flung 
upon  the  back  of  England  ?  England  is  the  soul  of 
the  coalition,  1  can  tell  you  that." 

How  many  explanations  were  necessary  to  make 
him  understand  the  Crimean  war,  where  the  English 
had  fought  by  our  sides  ! 


114  THE   MAN  WITH 

"  I  can  understand,"  said  he,  "  why  we  took  a 
crack  at  the  Russians — they  made  me  eat  my  Tbest 
horse.  But  the  English  are  a  thousand  times  worse. 
If  this  young-  man"  (the  Emperor  Napoleon  III.) 
"  doesn't  know  it,  I'll  tell  him.  There  is  no  quarter 
possible  after  what  they  did  at  St.  Helena !  If  I  had 
been  commander-in-chief  in  the  Crimea,  I  would  have 
begun  by  properly  squelching  the  Russians,  after 
which  I  would  have  turned  upon  the  English,  and 
hurled  them  into  the  sea.  It's  their  element,  any- 
how." 

They  gave  him  some  details  of  the  Italian  cam- 
paign, and  he  was  charmed  to  learn  that  the  23d  had 
taken  a  redoubt  under  the  eyes  of  the  Marshal  the 
Duke  of  Solferino. 

"  That's  the  habit  of  the  regiment,"  said  he,  shed- 
ding tears  in  his  napkin.  "  That  brigand  of  a  23d 
will  never  act  in  any  other  way.  The  goddess  of 
Victory  has  touched  it  with  her  wing." 

One  of  the  things,  for  example,  which  greatly 
astonished  him,  was  that  a  war  of  such  importance 
was  finished  up  in  so  short  a  time.  He  had  yet  to 
learn  that  within  a  few  years  the  world  had  learned 
the  secret  of  transporting  a  hundred  thousand  men, 
in  four  days,  from  one  end  of  Europe  to  the  other. 

"  Good  !  "  said  he  ;  "  I  admit  the  practicability 
of  it.  But  what  astonishes  me  is,  that  the  Emperor 
did  not  invent  this  affair  in  1810;  for  he  had  a 
genius  for  transportation,  a  genius  for  administration, 
a  genius  for  office  details,  a  genius  for  everything. 


THE    BROKEN    EAR.  115 

But  (to  resume  your  story)  the  Austrians  are  fortified 
at  last,  and  you  cannot  possibly  get  to  Vienna  in  less 
than  three  months." 

"  We  did  not  go  so  far,  in  fact." 

"  You  did  not  push  on  to  Vienna  ?  " 

"  No." 

"  Well,  then,  where  did  you  sign  the  treaty  of 
peace  ?  " 

"  At  Villafranca." 

"  At  Villafranca  ?  That's  the  capital  of  Austria, 
then  ?  " 

"  No  ;  it's  a  village  of  Italy." 

"  Monsieur,  I  don't  admit  that  treaties  of  peace 
are  signed  anywhere  but  in  capitals.  That  was  our 
principle,  our  ABC,  the  first  paragraph  of  our 
theory.  It  seems  as  if  the  world  must  have  changed 
a  good  deal  while  I  was  not  in  it.     But  patience  !  " 

And  now  truth  obliges  me  to  confess  that  Fouo;as 
got  drunk  at  dessert.  He  had  drunk  and  eaten  like  a 
Homeric  hero,  and  talked  more  fluently  than  Cicero 
in  his  best  days.  The  fumes  of  wine,  spices,  and 
eloquence  mounted  into  his  brain.  He  became  famil- 
iar, spoke  affectionately  to  some  and  rudely  to  others, 
and  poured  out  a  torrent  of  absurdities  big  enough 
to  turn  forty  mills.  His  drunkenness,  however,  had 
in  it  nothing  brutal,  or  even  ignoble  ;  it  was  but  the 
overflowing  of  a  spirit  young,  affectionate,  vain-glori- 
ous, and  unbalanced.  He  proposed  five  or  six  toasts 
— to  Glory,  to  the  Extension  of  our  Frontiers,  to  the 
Destruction  of  the  last  of  the  English,  to  Mile.  Mars — 


116  THE    M^N    WITH 

the  hope  of  the  French  stage,  to  Affection — the  tie, 
fragile  but  dear,  which  unites  the  lover  to  his  sweet- 
heart, the  father  to  his  son,  the  colonel  to  his  regi- 
ment ! 

His  style,  a  singular  mixture  of  familiarity  and 
impressiveness,  provoked  more  than  one  smile  among 
the  auditory.  He  noticed  it,  and  a  spark  of  defiance 
flashed  up  at  the  bottom  of  his  heart.  From  time  to 
time  he  loudly  asked  if  "  those  people  there  "  were 
not  abusing  his  ingenuousness. 

"  Confusion  !  "  cried  he,  "  Confusion  to  those  who 
want  me  to  take  bladders  for  lanterns  !  The  lantern 
may  blaze  out  like  a  bomb,  and  carry  consternation 
in  its  path  !  " 

After  a  series  of  such  remarks,  there  was  nothing 
left  for  him  to  do  but  to  roll  under  the  table,  and 
this  denouement  was  generally  expected.  But  the 
Colonel  belonged  to  a  robust  generation,  accustomed 
to  more  than  one  kind  of  excess,  and  strong  to  resist 
pleasure  as  well  as  dangers,  privations,  and  fatigues. 
So  when  Madame  Renault  pushed  back  her  chair,  in 
indication  that  the  repast  was  finished,  Fougas  arose 
without  difficulty,  gracefully  offered  his  arm,  and  con- 
ducted his  partner  to  the  parlor.  His  gait  was  a 
little  stiff  and  oppressively  regular,  but  he  went 
straight  ahead,  and  did  not  oscillate  the  least  bit. 
He  took  a  couple  of  cups  of  coffee,  and  spirits  in 
moderation,  after  which  he  began  to  talk  in  the  most 
reasonable  manner  in  the  world.  About  ten  o'clock, 
M.  Martout,  having   expressed   a  wish  to  hear  his 


THE    BEOKE.V    EAR.  117 

history,  he  placed  himself  on  a  stool,  collected  his 
ideas  for  a  moment,  and  asked  for  a  glass  of  water 
and  sugar.  The  company  seated  themselves  in  a 
circle  around  him,  and  he  commenced  the  following 
narrative,  the  slightly  antiquated  style  of  which 
craves  your  indulgence. 


CHAPTER   Xlli. 

HISTORY    OF    COLONEL   FOTJGAS,  RELATED    BY    HIMSELF. 

"Do  not  expect  that  I  will  ornament  my  story 
with  those  flowers,  more  agreeable  than  substantial, 
which  Jruagination  often  uses  to  gloss  over  truth.  A 
Frenchman  and  a  soldier,  I  doubly  ignore  deception. 
Friendship  interrogates  me,  Frankness  shall  answer. 

"  I  was  born  of  poor  but  honest  parents  at  the 
beginning  of  the  year  which  the  Jeu  de  Paume s 
brightened  with  an  aurora  of  liberty.  The  south 
was  my  native  clime  ;  the  language  dear  to  the  trou- 
badours was  that  which  I  lisped  in  my  cradle.  My 
birth  cost  my  mother's  life.  The  author  of  mine  was 
the  humble  owner  of  a  little  farm,  and  moistened  his 
bread  in  the  sweat  of  labor.  My  first  sports  were 
not  those  of  wealth.  The  many-colored  pebbles 
which  are  found  by  the  brooks,  and  that  well-known 
insect  which  childhood  holds  fluttering,  free  and 
captive  at  the  same  time,  at  the  end  of  a  thread, 
stood  me  in  stead  of  other  playthings. 

"  An  old  minister  at  Devotion's  altar,  enfranchised 
from  the  shadowy  bondage  of  fanaticism,  and  recon- 
ciled  to  the   new   institutions  of   France,   was   my 


THE    MAN"   WITH    THE    BROKEN    EAR.  119 

Chiron  and  Mentor.  He  nourished  me  with  the 
strong  lion's  marrow  of  Rome  and  Athens ;  his  lips 
distilled  into  my  ears  the  embalmed  honey  of  wis- 
dom. Honor  to  thee,  learned  and  venerable  man, 
who  gavest  me  the  first  precepts  of  wisdom  and  the 
first  examples  of  virtue  ! 

"  But  already  that  atmosphere  of  glory  which  the 
genius  of  one  man  and  the  valor  of  a  nation  had  set 
floating  over  the  country,  filled  all  my  senses,  and 
made  my  young  heart  throb.  France,  on  the  edge  of 
the  volcano  of  civil  war,  had  collected  all  her  forces 
into  a  thunderbolt  to  launch  upon  Europe,  and  the 
world,  astounded  if  not  overwhelmed,  was  shrinking 
from  the  surge  of  the  unchained  torrent.  What  man, 
what  Frenchman,  could  have  heard  with  indifference 
that  echo  of  victory  reverberating  through  millions 
of  hearts  ? 

"  While  scarcely  leaving  childhood,  I  felt  that 
honor  is  more  precious  than  life.  The  warlike  music 
of  the  drums  brought  to  my  eyes  brave  and  manly 
tears.  '  And  I,  too,'  said  I,  following  the  music  of 
the  regiments  through  the  streets  of  Toulouse,  '  will 
pluck  laurels  though  I  sprinkle  them  with  my  blood.' 
The  pale  olive  of  peace  had  from  me  nothing  but 
scorn.  The  peaceful  triumphs  of  the  law,  the  calm 
pleasures  of  commerce  and  finance,  were  extolled  in 
vain.  To  the  toga  of  our  Ciceros,  to  the  robe  of  our 
magistrates,  to  the  curule  chair  of  our  legislators,  to 
the  opulence  of  our  Mondors,  I  preferred  the  sword. 
One  would  have  said  that  I  had  sucked  the  milk  of 


120  THE    MAN    WITH 

Bellona.  '  Victory  or  Death ! '  was  already  my  motto, 
and  I  was  not  sixteen  years  old. 

"  With  what  noble  scorn  I  heard  recounted  the 
history  of  our.  Proteuses  of  politics!  With  what 
disdainful  glances  I  regarded  the  Turcarets  of  finance, 
lolling  on  the  cushions  of  some  magnificent  carriage, 
and  conducted  by  a  laced  automaton  to  the  boudoir 
of  some  Aspasia.  But  if  I  heard  told  the  mighty 
deeds  of  the  Knights  of  the  Round  Table,  or  the 
valor  of  the  crusaders  celebrated  in  flowing  verse  ;  if 
chance  placed  in  my  hand  the  great  actions  of  our 
modern  Rolands,  recounted  in  an  army  bulletin  by 
the  successor  of  Charlemagne,  a  flame  presaging  the 
fire  of  battles  rose  in  my  young  eyes. 

"  Ah,  the  inaction  was  too  much,  and  my  leading- 
strings,  already  worn  by  impatience,  would  have 
broken,  perhaps,  had  not  a  father's  wisdom  untied 
them. 

"  '  Most  surely,'  said  he  to  me,  trying,  but  in  vain, 
to  restrain  his  tears,  '  it  was  no  tyrant  who  begot 
you,  and  I  will  not  poison  the  life  which  T  myself 
gave  you.  I  had  hoped  that  your  hand  would  remain 
in  our  cottage  to  close  my  eyes;  but  when  Patriotism 
has  spoken,  Egotism  must  be  still.  My  prayers  will 
always  follow  you  to  the  field  where  Mars  harvests 
heroes.  May  you  merit  the  guerdon  of  valor,  and 
show  yourself  a  good  citizen,  as  you  have  been  a 
good  son ! ' 

"  Speaking  thus,  he  opened  his  arms  to  me.  I 
threw  myself  into  them ;  we  mingled  our  tears,  and 


THE    BROKEN    EAR.  121 

I  promised  to  return  to  our  hearthstone  as  soon  as  I 
could  bring  the  star  of  honor  suspended  from  my 
breast.  But  alas  !  my  unhappy  father  was  des- 
tined to  see  me  no  more.  The  fate  which  was  al- 
ready gilding  the  thread  of  my  days,  pitilessly  sev- 
ered that  of  his.  A  stranger's  hand  closed  his  eyes, 
while  I  was  gaining  my  first  epaulette  at  the  battle 
of  Jena. 

"  Lieutenant  at  Eylau,  captain  at  Wagram,  and 
there  decorated  by  the  Emperor's  own  hand  on  the 
field  of  battle,  major  before  Almieda,  lieutenant-colo- 
nel at  Badajoz,  colonel  at  Moscow,  I  have  drunk  the 
cup  of  victory  to  the  full.  But  I  have  also  tasted 
the  chalice  of  adversity.  The  frozen  plains  of  Rus- 
sia saw  me  alone  with  a  platoon  of  braves,  the 
last  remnant  of  my  regiment,  forced  to  devour  the 
mortal  remains  of  that  faithful  friend  who  had  so 
often  carried  me  into  the  very  heart  of  the  enemy's 
battalions.  Trusty  aud  affectionate  companion  of  my 
dangers,  when  rendered  useless  by  an  accident  at 
Smolensk,  he  devoted  his  very  manes  to  the  safety 
of  his  master,  and  made  of  his  skin  a  protection  for 
my  frozen  and  lacerated  feet. 

"  My  tongue  refuses  to  repeat  the  story  of  our 
perils  in  that  terrible  campaign.  Perhaps  some  day 
I  will  write  it  with  a  pen  dipped  in  tears — tears,  the 
tribute  of  feeble  humanity.  Surprised  by  the  season 
of  frosts  in  a  zone  of  ice,  without  fire,  without  bread, 
without  shoes,  without  means  of  transportation,  de- 
nied the  succor  of  Esculapius'  art,  harassed  by  the 
6 


122  THE    MAN    WITH 

Cossacks,  robbed  by  the  peasants — positive  vampires, 
we  saw  our  mute  tbunderers,  which  had  fallen  into 
the  enemy's  hands,  belch  forth  death  upon  ourselves. 
What  more  can  I  tell  you  ?  The  passage  of  the 
Beresina,  the  opposition  at  Wilna — Oh,  ye  gods  of 
Thunder ! — But  I  feel  that  grief  overcomes  me,  and 
that  my  language  is  becoming  tinged  with  the  bitter- 
ness of  these  recollections. 

"  Nature  and  Love  were  holding  in  reserve  for 
me  brief  but  precious  consolations.  Released  from 
my  fatigues,  I  passed  a  few  happy  days  in  my  native 
land  among  the  peaceful  vales  of  Nancy.  While  our 
phalanxes  were  preparing  themselves  for  fresh  com- 
bats, while  I  was  gathering  around  my  flag  three 
thousand  young  but  valorous  warriors,  all  resolved 
to  open  to  posterity  the  path  of  honor,  a  new  emo- 
tion, to  which  I  had  before  been  a  stranger,  furtively 
glided  into  my  soul. 

"  Beautitied  by  all  Nature's  gifts,  enriched  by  the 
fruits  of  an  excellent  education,  the  young  and  inter- 
esting Clementine  had  scarcely  passed  from  the  un- 
certain shadows  of  childhood  into  the  sweet  illusions 
of  youth.  Eighteen  springs  composed  her  life.  Her 
parents  extended  to  some  of  the  army  officers  a  hos- 
pitality which,  though  it  was  not  gratuitous,  was  far 
from  lacking  in  cordiality.  To  see  their  child  and 
love  her,  was  for  me  the  affair  of  a  day.  Her  virgin 
heart  smiled  upon  my  love.  At  the  first  avowals 
dictated  to  me  by  my  passion,  I  saw  her  forehead 
color  with  a  lovely  modesty.     We  exchanged  our 


XHR    BKOKEX    EAR.  123 

vows  one  lovely  evening  in  June,  under  an  arbor 
■where  her  happy  father  sometimes  dispensed  to  the 
thirsty  officers  the  brown  liquor  of  the  North.  I 
swore  that  she  should  be  my  wife,  and  she  promised 
to  be  mine  ;  she  yielded  stilt  more.  Our  happiness, 
regardless  of  all  outside,  had  the  calmness  of  a  brook 
whose  pure  wave  is  never  troubled  by  the  storm,  and 
which  rolls  sweetly  between  flowery  banks,  spread- 
ing its  own  freshness  through  the  grove  that  protects 
its  modest  course. 

"  A  lightning  stroke  separated  us  from  each  other 
at  the  moment  when  Law  and  Religion  were  about 
adding  their  sanction  to  our  sweet  communion.  I 
departed  before  I  was  able  to  give  my  name  to  her 
who  had  given  me  her  heart.  I  promised  to  return  ; 
she  promised  to  wait  for  me  ;  and,  all  bathed  in  her 
tears,  I  tore  myself  from  her  arms,  to  rush  to  the  lau- 
rels of  Dresden  and  the  cypresses  ofXeipzic.  A  few 
lines  from  her  hand  reached  me  during  the  interval 
between  the  two  battles.  '  You  are  to  be  a  father,' 
she  told  me.  Am  I  one  ?  God  knows  !  Has  she 
waited  for  me  ?  I  believe  she  has.  The  waiting  must 
nave  appeared  to  be  a  long  one  since  the  birth  of  this 
child,  who  is  forty-six  years  old  to-day,  and  who 
could  be,  in  his  turn,  my  father. 

"  Pardon  me  for  having  troubled  you  so  long 
with  misfortunes.  I  wished  to  pass  rapidly  over  this 
sad  history,  but  the  unhappiness  of  virtue  has  in  it 
something  sweet  to  temper  the  bitterness  of  grief. 

"  Some  days  after  the  disaster  of'  Leipzic,   the 


124        ,  THE   MAX   WITH 

giant  of  our  age  had  me  called  into  his  tent,  and  said 
to  me : 

"  '  Colonel,  are  you  a  man  to  make  your  way 
through  four  armies  ?  ' 

"  '  Yes,  sire.' 

"  '  Alone,  and  without  escort  ?  ' 

"  '  Yes,  sire.' 

"  '  There  must  be  a  letter  carried  to  Dantzic' 

"  '  Yes,  sire.' 

"  '  You  will  deliver  it  into  General  Rapp's  own 
hands  ?  ' 

" '  Yes,  sire.' 

"  '  It  is  probable  you  will  be  taken,  or  killed.' 

" '  Yes,  sire.' 

"  '  For  that  reason  I  send  two  other  officers  with 
copies  of  the  same  despatch.  There  are  three  of 
you ;  the  enemy  will  kill  two,  the  third  will  get 
there,  and  France  will  be  saved.' 

"  '  Yes,  sire.' 

"  '  The  one  who  returns  shall  be  a  brigadier-gen- 
eral.' 

"  '  Yes,  sire.' 

"  Every  detail  of  this  interview,  every  word  of 
the  Emperor,  every  response  which  I  had  the  honor 
to  address  to  him,  is  still  engraved  upon  my  memory. 
All  three  of  us  set  out  separately.  Alas  !  not  one  of 
us  reached  the  goal  aimed  at  by  his  valor,  and  I  have 
learned  to-day  that  France  was  not  saved.  But  when 
I  see  these  blockheads  of  historians  asserting  that  the 
Emperor  forgot  to  send  orders  to  General  Rapp,  I 


THE   BR0K.EX   EA.B.  125 

feel  a  terrible  itching  to  cut  their story  short, 

at  least. 

"  '  When  a  prisoner  in  the  hands  of  the  Russians 
in  a  German  village,  I  had  the  consolation  of  finding 
an  old  philosopher,  who  gave  me  the  rarest  proofs 
of  friendship.  Who  would  have  told  me,  when  I 
succumbed  to  the  numbness  of  the  cold  in  the  tower 
of  Liebenfeld,  that  that  sleep  would  not  be  the  last  ? 
God  is  my  witness,  that  in  then  addressing,  from  the 
bottom  of  mv  heart,  a  last  farewell  to  Clementine,  I 
did  not  even  hope  to  see  her  again.  I  will  see  you 
again,  then,  O  sweet  and  confiding  Clementine — best 
of  spouses,  and,  probably,  of  mothers !  What  do  I 
say  ?  I  see  her  now  !  My  eyes  do  not  deceive  me  ! 
This  is  surely  she  !  There  she  is,  just  as  I  left  her  ! 
Clementine  !  In  my  arms  !  On  my  heart !  Look 
here !  What's  this  you've  been  whining  to  me,  the 
rest  of  you  ?  Napoleon  is  not  dead,  and  the  world 
has  not  grown  forty-six  years  older,  for  Clementine 
is  still  the  same  !  " 

The  betrothed  of  Leon  Renault  was  about  enter- 
ing the  room,  and  stopped  petrified  at  finding  herself 
so  overwhelmingly  received  by  the  Colonel. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

THE    GAME    OF   LOVE    AND   "WAR. 

As  she  was  evidently  backward  in  falling  into  his 
arms,  Fougas  imitated  Mahomet,  and  ran  to  the 
mountain. 

"  Oh,  Clementine !  "  said  he,  covering  her  with 
kisses,  "  the  friendly  Fates  give  you  back  to  my  devo- 
tion. I  clasp  once  more  the  partner  of  my  life  and 
the  mother  of  my  child  !  " 

The  young  lady  was  so  astounded,  that  she  did 
not  even  dream  of  defending  herself.  Happily,  Leon 
Renault  extricated  her  from  the  hands  of  the  Colonel, 
and  placed  himself  between  them,  determined  to 
defend  his  own. 

"  Monsieur,"  cried  he,  clenching  his  fists,  "  you 
deceive  yourself  entirely,  if  you  think  you  know 
Mademoiselle.  She  is  not  a  person  of  your  time, 
but  of  ours  ;  she  is  not  your  fiancee,  but  mine  ;  she 
has  never  been  the  mother  of  your  child,  and  I  trust 
that  she  will  be  the  mother  of  mine  !  " 

Fougas  was  iron.  He  seized  his  rival  by  the  arm, 
sent  him  off  spinning  like  a  top,  and  put  himself  face 
to  face  with  the  young  girl. 


THE   MA3T   "WITH   THE   BROKEN   EAR.  127 

"  Are  you  Clementine  ?  "  he  demanded  of  her. 

"  Yes,  Monsieur." 

"  I  call  you  all  to  witness  that  she  is  my  Clemen- 
tine ! " 

Leon  returned  to  the  charge,  and  seized  the  Colo- 
nel by  the  collar,  at  the  risk  of  getting  himself  dashed^ 
against  the  walls. 

"  We've  had  joking  enough  !  "  said  he.  "  Pos- 
sibly you  don't  pretend  to  monopolize  all  the  Cle- 
mentines in  the  world  ?  Mademoiselle's  name  is 
Clementine  Sambucco  ;  she  was  born  at  Martinique, 
where  you  never  set  your  foot,  if  I  am  to  believe 
what  you  have  said  within  an  hour.  She  is  eighteen 
years  old " 

"  So  was  the  other !  " 

"  Eh  !  The  other  is  sixty-four  to-day,  since  she 
was  eighteen  in  1813.  Mile.  Sambucco  is  of  an  hon- 
orable  and  well-known  family.  Her  father,  M.  Sam- 
bucco, was  a  magistrate  ;  her  grandfather  was  a  func- 
tionary of  the  war  department.  You  see,  she  is  in 
no  way  connected  with  you,  nearly  or  remotely  ;  and 
good  sense  and*  politeness,  to  say  nothing  of  grati- 
tude, make  it  your  duty  to  leave  her  in  peace." 

He  gave  the  Colonel  a  shove,  in  his  turn,  and 
made  him  tumble  between  the  arms  of  a  sofa. 

Fougas  bounded  up  as  if  he  had  been  thrown  on 
a  million  springs.  But  Clementine  stopped  him,  with 
a  gesture  and  a  smile. 

"  Monsieur,"  said  she  in  her  most  caressing  voice, 
"  do  not  get  angry  with  him  ;  he  loves  me." 


128  THE   MAN   WITH 

"  So  much  the  more  reason  why  I  should !  Dam- 
nation !  " 

He  cooled  down,  nevertheless,  made  the  young 
lady  sit  down  beside  him,  and  regarded  her  from 
head  to  foot  with  the  most  absorbed  attention. 

"  This  is  surely  she,"  said  he.  "  My  memory,  my 
eyes,  my  heart,  everything  in  me,  recognizes  her,  and 
tells  me  that  it  is  she.  And  nevertheless  the  testi- 
mony of  mankind,  the  calculation  of  times  and  dis- 
tances, in  a  word,  the  very  soul  of  evidence,  seems  to 
have  made  it  a  special  point  to  convict  me  of  error. 

"  Is  it  possible,  then,  that  two  women  should  so 
resemble  each  other  ?  Am  I  the  victim  of  an  illusion 
of  the  senses  ?  Have  I  recovered  life  only  to  lose 
reason  ?  No ;  I  know  myself,  I  find  myself  the 
same  ;  my  judgment  is  firm  and  accurate,  and  can 
make  its  way  in  this  world  so  new  and  topsy-turvy. 
It  is  on  but  one  point  that  my  reason  wravers — Cle- 
mentine ! — I  seem  to  see  you  again,  and  you  are  not 
you  !  Well,  Avhat's  the  difference,  after  all  ?  If  the 
Destiny  which  snatched  me  from  the  tomb  has  taken 
care  to  present  to  my  awaking  sense  the  image  of  her 
I  loved,  it  must  be  because  it  had  resolved  to  give 
me  back,  one  after  another,  all  the  blessings  which  I 
had  lost.  In  a  few  days,  my  epaulettes  ;  to-morrow, 
the  flag  of  the  23d  of  the  line  ;  to-clay  this  adorable 
presence  which  made  my  heart  beat  for  the  first 
time !  Living  image  of  all  that  is  sweetest  and 
dearest  in  the  past,  I  throw  myself  at  your  feet !  Be 
my  wife !  " 


THE   BROKEN   EAE.  129 

The  devil  of  a  fellow  joined  the  deed  to  the  word, 
and  the  witnesses  of  the  unexpected  scene  opened 
their  eyes  to  the  widest.  But  Clementine's  aunt,  the 
austere  Mile.  Sambucco,  thought  that  it  was  tiine  to 
show  her  authority.  She  stretched  out  her  big, 
wrinkled  hands,  seized  Fougas,  jerked  him  sharply 
to  his  feet,  and  cried  in  her  shrillest  voice  : 

"  Enough,  sir  ;  it  is  time  to  put  an  end  to  this 
scandalous  farce  !  My  niece  is  not  for  you ;  I  have 
promised  her  and  given  her  away.  Know  that,  day 
after  to-morrow,  the  19th  of  this  month,  at  ten 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  she  will  marry  M.  Leon 
Renault,  your  benefactor  !  " 

"  And  I  forbid  it — do  you  hear,  Madame  Aunt  ? 
And  if  she  pretends  to  marry  this  boy " 

"  What  'will  you  do  ?  " 

"  I'll  curse  her  !  " 

Leon  could  not  help  laughing.  The  malediction 
of  this  twenty-five-year-old  Colonel  appeared  rather 
more  comic  than  terrible.  But  Clementine  grew 
pale,  burst  into  tears,  and  fell,  in  her  turn,  at  the  feet 
of  Fougas. 

"  Monsieur,"  cried  she,  kissing  his  hands,  "  do  not 
overwhelm  a  poor  girl  who  venerates  you,  wTho  loves 
you,  who  will  sacrifice  her  happiness  if  you  demand 
it !  By  all  the  marks  of  tenderness  which  I  have 
lavished  upon  you  for  a  month,  by  the  tears  I  have 
poured  upon  your  coffin,  by  the  respectful  zeal  with 
which  I  have  urged  on  your  resuscitation,  I  conjure 
you  to  pardon  our  offences.  I  will  not  marry  Leon 
6* 


130  THE   MAK  WITH 

if  you  forbid  me  ;  I  will  do  anything  to  please  you ; 
I  will  obey  you  in  everything ;  but,  for  God's  sake, 
do  not  pour  upon  me  your  maledictions  !  " 

"  Embrace  me,"  said  Fougas.  "  You  yield  ;  I 
pardon." 

Clementine  raised  herself,  all  radiant  with  joy, 
and  held  up  her  beautiful  forehead.  The  stupefac- 
tion of  the  spectators,  especially  of  those  most  in- 
terested, can  be  better  imagined  than  described.  An 
old  mummy  dictating  laws,  breaking  off  marriages, 
and  imposing  his  desires  on  the  whole  house  !  Pretty 
little  Clementine,  so  reasonable,  so  obedient,  so  happy 
in  the  .prospect  of  marrying  Leon  Renault,  sacrific- 
ing, all  at  once,  her  affections,  her  happiness,  and 
almost  her  duty,  to  the  caprice  of  an  interloper.  M. 
Nibor  declared  that  it  was  madness.  As  for  Leon, 
he  would  have  butted  his  head  into  all  the  walls,  if 
his  mother  had  not  held  him  back. 

"Ah,  my  poor  child!"  said  she,  "why  did  you 
bring  that  thing  from  Berlin  ?  " 

"  It's  my  fault !  "  cried  old  Monsieur  Renault. 

"  No,"  interrupted  Dr.  Martout,  "  it's  mine." 

The  members  of  the  Parisian  committee  discussed 
with  M.  Rollon  the  new  aspect  of  the  case.  "  Had 
they  resuscitated  a  madman  ?  Had  the  revivification 
produced  some  disorder  of  the  nervous  system  ? 
Had  the  abuse  of  wine  and  other  drinkables  during 
the  first  repast  caused  a  delirium  ?  What  an  interest- 
ing autopsy  it  would  be,  if  they  could  dissect  M. 
Fougas  at  the  next  regular  meeting  !  " 


THE   BROKEN   EAR.  131 

"  You  would  do  very  well  as  far  as  you  would 
go,  gentlemen,"  said  the  Colonel  of  the  23d.  "  The 
autopsy  might  explain  the  delirium  of  our  unfor- 
tunate friend,  but  it  would  not  account  for  the  im- 
pression produced  upon  the  young  lady.  Is  it  fas- 
cination, magnetism,  or  what  ?  " 

While  the  friends  and  relations  were  weeping, 
counselling,  and  buzzing  around  him,  Fougas,  serene 
and  smiling,  gazed  at  himself  in  Clementine's  eyes, 
while  they,  too,  regarded  him  tenderly. 

"  This  must  be  brought  to  an  end !  "  cried  Mile. 
Sambucco  the  severe.     "  Come,  Clementine  !  " 

Fougas  seemed  surprised. 

"  She  doesn't  live  here,  then  ?  " 

"  No,  sir  ;  she  lives  with  me." 

"  Then  I  will  escort  her  home.  Angel !  will  you 
take  my  arm  ?  " 

"  Oh,  yes,  Monsieur,  with  great  pleasure  !  " 

Leon  gnashed  his  teeth. 

"  This  is  admirable  !  He  presumes  on  such  fimil- 
iarity,  and  she  takes  it  all  as  a  matter  of  course  !  " 

He  went  to  get  his  hat,  for  the  purpose  of,  at 
least,  going  home  with  the  aunt,  but  his  hat  was  not 
in  its  place  ;  Fougas,  who  had  not  yet  one  of  his 
own,  had  helped  himself  to  it  without  ceremony. 
The  poor  lover  crowded  his  head  into  a  cap,  and 
followed  Fougas  and  Clementine,  with  the  respect- 
able Yirginie,  whose  ai*m  cut  like  a  scythe. 

By  an  accident  which  happened  almost  daily,  the 
Colonel  of  cuirassiers  met  Clementine  on  the  wa) 


132  TEE    -MAN    WITH 

home.     The  young  lady  directed  Fougas'  attention 
to  him. 

"  That's  M.  du  Marnet,"  said  she.  "  His  restau- 
rant is  at  the  end  of  our  street,  and  his  room  at  the 
side  of  the  park.  I  think  he  is  very  much  taken  with 
my  little  self,  but  he  has  never  even  bowed  to  me. 
The  only  man  for  whom  my  heart  has  ever  beaten  is 
Leon  Renault." 

"  Ah,  indeed  !     And  me  ?  "  said  Fougas. 

"  Oh  !  as  for  you,  that's  another  matter.  I  respect 
you,  and  stand  in  awe  of  you.  It  seems  to  me  as  if 
you  were  a  good  and  respectable  parent." 

"  Thank  you  !  " 

"  I'm  telling  you  the  truth,  as  far  as  I  can  read  it 
in  my  heart.  •  All  this  is  not  very  clear,  I  confess,  but 
I  do  not  understand  myself." 

"  Azure  flower  of  innocence,  I  adore  your  sweet 
perplexity!  Let  love  take  care  of  itself;  it  will 
speak  to  you  in  master  tones." 

"  I  don't  know  anything  about  that ;  it's  possible  ! 
Here  we  are  at  home.  Good  evening,  Monsieur ; 
embrace  me. — Good  night,  Leon  ;  don't  quarrel  with 
M.  Fougas.  I  love  him  with  all  my  heart,  but  1  love 
you  in  a  different  way  !  " 

The  aunt  Virginie  made  no  response  to  the  "  Good 
evening"  of  Fougas.  When  the  two  men  were  alone 
in  the  street,  Leon  marched  along  without  saying  a 
word,  till  they  reached  the  next  lamp-post.  There, 
planting  himself  resolutely  opposite  the  Colonel,  he 
Baid, 


THE   BROKEN   EAR.  135 

"  Well,  sir,  now  that  we  are  alone,  we  had  better 
have  an  explanation.  I  don't  know  by  what  philter 
or  incantation  you  have  obtained  such  prodigious 
influence  over  my  betrothed  ;  but  I  know  that  I  love 
her,  that  I  have  been  loved  by  her  more  than  four 
years,  and  that  1  will  not  stop  at  any  means  of  retain- 
ing and  protecting  her." 

"  Friend,"  answered  Fougas,  "  you  can  brave  me 
with  impunity  ;  my  arm  is  chained  by  gratitude.  It 
shall  never  be  written  in  history  that  Pierre  Fougas 
was  an  ingrate  !  " 

"  Would  it  have  been  more  ungrateful  in  you  to 
cut  my  throat,  than  to  rob  me  of  my  wife  ?  " 

"  Oh,  my  benefactor  !  Learn  to  understand  and 
pardon !  God  forbid  that  I  should  marry  Clemen- 
tine in  spite  of  you,  in  spite  of  herself.  It  is  through 
her  consent  and  your  own  that  I  hope  to  win  her. 
Realize  that  she  has  been  dear  to  me,  not  for  four 
years,  as  to  you,  but  for  nearly  half  a  century.  Re- 
flect that  I  am  alone  on  earth,  and  that  her  sweet 
face  is  my  only  consolation.  Will  you,  who  have 
given  me  life,  prevent  my  spending  it  happily  ?  Have 
you  called  me  back  to  the  world  only  to  deliver  me 
over  to  despair  ? — Tiger  !  Take  back,  then,  the  life 
you  gave  me,  if  you  will  not  permit  me  to  consecrate 
it  to  the  adorable  Clementine  !  " 

"  Upon  my  soul,  my  dear  fellow,  you  are  superb  ! 
The  habit  of  victory  must  have  totally  twisted  your 
wits.  My  hat  is  on  your  head : — keep  it ;  so  far  so 
good.     But  because  my  betrothed  happens  to  remind 


134  THE   MAN"   WITH 

you  vaguely  of  a  girl  in  Nancy,  must  I  give  her  up  to 
you  ?     I  can't  see  it !  " 

"  Friend,  I  will  give  you  back  your  hat  just  as 
soon  as  you've  bought  me  another  one  ;  but  do  not 
ask  me  to  give  up  Clementine.  In  the  first  place,  do 
you  know  that  she  will  reject  me  ?  " 

"  I'm  sure  of  it." 

"  She  loves  me." 

"  You're  crazy  !  " 

"  You've  seen  her  at  my  feet." 

"  What  of  that  ?  It  was  from  fear,  from  re- 
spect, from  superstition,  from  anything  in  the  devil's 
name  you  choose  to  call  it ;  but  it  was  not  from 
love." 

"  We'll  see  about  that  pretty  clearly,  after  six 
months  of  married  life." 

"  But,"  cried  Leon  Renault,  "  have  you  the  right 
to  dispose  of  yourself?  There  is  another  Clemen- 
tine, the  true  one ;  she  has  sacrificed  everything  for 
you  ;  you  are  engaged,  in  honor,  to  her.  Is  Colonel 
Fou^as  deaf  to  the  voice  of  honor  ?  " 

"  Are  you  mocking  me  ?  What !  I  marry  a 
woman  sixty-four  years  old  ?  " 

"  You  ought  to  ;  if  not  for  her  sake,  at  least  for 
your  child's." 

"  My  child  is  a  pretty  big  boy.  He's  forty-six 
years  old  ;  he  has  no  further  need  of  my  care." 

"  He  does  need  your  name,  though." 

"  I'll  adopt  him." 

"  The  law  is  opposed  to  it.   You're  not  fifty  years 


THE   BE0XEX   EAR.  135 

old,  and  he's  not  fifteen  years  younger  than  you  are  ; 
quite  the  reverse  !  " 

"  Very  well ;  I'll  legitimize  him  by  marrying  the 
young  Clementine." 

"  How  can  you  expect  her  to  acknowledge  a  child 
twice  as  old  as  she  is  herself?  " 

"  Bat  then  I  can't  acknowledge  him  any  better ; 
so  there's  no  need  of  my  marrying  the  old  woman. 
Moreover,  I'd  be  excessively  accommodating  to  break 
my  head  for  a  child  who  is  very  likely  dead.  What 
do  I  say  ?  It  is  possible  that  he  never  saAV  the  light. 
I  love  and  am  loved — that  much  is  substantial  and 
certain  ;  and  you  shall  be  my  groomsman." 

"  Xot  yet  awhile.  Mile.  Sarabucco  is  a  minor, 
and  her  guardian  is  my  father." 

"  Your  father  is  an  honorable  man  ;  and  he  will 
not  have  the  baseness  to  refuse  her  to  me." 

"  At  least  he  will  ask  yon  if  you  have  any  posi- 
tion, any  rank,  any  fortune  to  offer  to  his  ward." 

"  My  position  ?  colonel ;  my  rank  ?  colonel ;  my 
fortune  ?  the  pay  of  a  colonel.  And  the  millions  at 
Dantzic — I  mustn't  forget  them  ! — Here  we  are  at 
home  ;  let  me  have  the  will  of  that  good  old  gentle- 
man who  wore  the  lilac  wig.  Give  me  some  books 
on  history,  too — a  big  pile  of  them — all  that  have 
anything  to  say  about  jSTapoleon." 

Young  Renault  sadly  obeyed  the  master  he  had 
given  himself.  He  conducted  Fougas  to  a  fine  cham- 
ber, brought  him  Herr  Meiser's  will  and  a  whole 
shelf  of  books,  and  bid  his  mortal  enemy  "  Good 


136  THE    MAN   WITH 

night."  The  Colonel  embraced  him  impetuously,  and 
said  to  hirn, 

"  I  will  never  forget  that  to  you  I  owe  life  and 
Clementine.  Farewell  till  to-morrow,  noble  and  gen- 
erous child  of  my  native  land  !  farewell !  " 

Leon  went  back  to  the  ground  floor,  passed  the 
dining-room,  where  Gothon  was  wiping  the  glasses 
and  putting  the  silver  in  order,  and  rejoined  his 
father  and  mother,  who  were  waiting  for  him  in  the 
parlor.  The  guests  were  gone,  the  candles  extin- 
guished. A  single  lamp  lit  up  the  solitude.  The  two 
mandarins  on  the  etagere  were  motionless  in  their 
obscure  corner,  and  seemed  to  meditate  gravely  on 
the  caprices  of  fortune. 

"  Well  ?  "  demanded  Mme.  Renault. 

"  I  left  him  in  his  room,  crazier  and  more  obsti- 
nate than  ever.     However,  I've  got  an  idea." 

"  So  much  the  better,"  said  the  father,  "  for  we 
have  none  left.  Sadness  has  made  us  stupid.  But, 
above  all  things,  no  quarrelling.  These  soldiers  of 
the  empire  used  to  be  terrible  swordsmen." 

"  Oh,  I'm  not  afraid  of  him  !  It's  Clementine 
that  makes  me  anxious  With  what  sweetness  and 
submission  she  listened  to  the  confounded  babbler  !  " 

"  The  heart  of  woman  is  an  unfathomable  abyss. 
Well,  what  do  you  think  of  doing  ?  " 

Leon  developed  in  detail  the  project  he  had  con- 
ceived in  the  street,  during  his  conversation  with 
Fougas. 

"  The  most  urgent  thing,"  said  he,  "  is  to  relieve 


THE   BROKEN   EAR.  13*7 

Clementine  from  this  influence.  If  we  could  get  him 
out  of  the  way  to-morrow,  reason  would  resume  its 
empire,  and  we  would  be  married  the  day  after  to« 
morrow.     That  being  done,  I'll  answer  for  the  rest." 

"  But  how  is  such  a  madman  to  be  gotten  rid 
of?" 

"  I  see  but  one  way,  but  it  is  almost  infallible — to 
excite  his  dominant  passion.  These  fellows  some- 
times imagine  that  they  are  in  love,  but,  at  the  bot- 
tom, they  love  nothing  but  powder.  The  thing  is,  to 
fling  Fougas  back  into  the  current  of  military  ideas. 
His  breakfast  to-morrow  with  the  colonel  of  the  23d 
will  be  a  good  preparation.  1  made  him  understand 
to-day  that  he  ought,  before  all,  to  reclaim  his  rank 
and  epaulettes,  and  he  has  become  inoculated  with 
the  idea.  He'll  go  to  Paris,  then.  Possibly  he'll  find 
there  some  leather-breeches  of  his  acquaintance.  At 
all  events,  he'll  reenter  the  service.  The  occupations 
incident  to  his  position  will  be  a  powerful  diversion  ; 
he'll  no  longer  dream  of  Clementine,  whom  I  will 
have  fixed  securely.  We  will  have  to  furnish  him  the 
wherewithal  to  knock  about  the  world ;  but  all  sacri- 
fices of  money  are  nothing  in  comparison  with  the 
happiness  I  wish  to  save." 

Madame  Renault,  who  was  a  woman  of  thrift, 
blamed  her  son's  generosity  a  little. 

"  The  Colonel  is  an  ungrateful  soul,"  said  she. 
"  We've  already  done  too  much  in  giving  him  back 
his  life.     Let  him  take  cave  of  himself  now  !  " 

"  No,"  said  the  father  ;  "  we've  not  the  right  to 


138  THE   MAN    WITH 

send  him  forth  entirely  empty-handed.  Decency  for- 
bids." 

This  deliberation,  which  had  lasted  a  good  hour 
and  a  quarter,  was  interrupted  by  a  tremendous 
racket.  One  would  have  declared  that  the  house  was 
falling  down. 

"  There  he  is  again  !  "  cried  Leon.  "  Undoubt- 
edly a  fresh  paroxysm  of  raving  madness  !  " 

He  ran,  followed  by  his  parents,  and  mounted  the 
steps  four  at  a  time.  A  candle  was  burning  at  the 
sill  of  the  chamber  door.  Leon  took  it,  and  pushed 
the  door  half  open. 

Must  it  be  confessed  ?  Hope  and  joy  spoke 
louder  to  him  than  fear.  He  fancied  himself  already 
relieved  of  the  Colonel.  But  the  spectacle  presented 
to  his  eyes  suddenly  diverted  the  course  of  his  ideas, 
and  the  inconsolable  lover  began  laughing  like  a  fool. 
A  noise  of  kicks,  blows,  and  slaps ;  an  undefined 
group  rolling  on  the  floor  in  the  convulsions  of  a 
desperate  struggle — so  much  was  all  he  could  see 
and  understand  at  the  first  glance.  Soon  Fougas,  lit 
up  by  the  ruddy  glow  of  the  candle,  discovered  that 
he  was  struggling  with  Gothon,  like  Jacob  with  the 
angel,  and  went  back,  confused  and  pitiable,  to 
bed. 

The  Colonel  had  gone  to  sleep  over  the  history 
of  Napoleon,  without  putting  out  the  candle.  Go- 
thon, after  finishing  her  work,  saw  the  light  under 
the  door.  Her  thoughts  recurred  to  that  poor  Bap- 
tiste,  who,  perhaps,  was  groaning  in  purgatory  for 


TIJE    BROKEN   EAR.  J  .iO 

having  let  himself  tumble  from  a  roof.  Hoping  that 
Fougas  could  give  her  some  news  of  her  lover,  she 
rapped  several  times,  at  first  softly,  then  much  louder. 
The  Colonel's  silence  and  the  lighted  candle  made  it. 
seem  to  the  servant  that  there  w:is  something  wrong. 
The  fire  might  catch  the  curtains,  and  from  1  hence 
the  whole  building.  She  accordingly  set  down  the 
candle,  opened  the  door,  and  went,  with  cat-like 
steps,  to  put  out  the  light.     Possibly  the  <  the 

sleeper  vaguely  perceived  the  passage  of  a  shadow  J 
possibly  Goth  on,  •with  her  big,  awkward  figure,  made 
a  board  in  the  floor  creak.  Fougas  partially  awol  e, 
heard  the  rustling  of  a  dress,  dreamed  it  one  of  those 
adventures  which  were  wont  to  spice  garrison  life 
under  the  first  empire,  and  held  out  bis  □  blindly, 
calling  Clementine.  Gottion.  on  finding  herself  seized 
by  the  hair  and  shoulders,  responded  by  such  a  mas- 
culine blow  that  the  enemy  supposed  himself  attacked 
by  a  man.  The  blow  was  returned  with  interest  ; 
further  exchanges  followed,  and  they  finished  by 
clinching  and  rolling  on  the  floor. 

If  anybody  ever  did  feel  shamefaced,  Fougas  was 
certainly  the  man.  Gothon  went,  to  bed,  considerably 
bruised;  the  Renault  family  talked  sense  into  the 
Colonel,  and  got  out  of  him  pretty  much  what  I 
wanted.  He  promised  to  set  out  next  day,  acce] 
as  a  loan  the  money  offered  hirn,  and  swore  Dot  to 
return  until  he  should  have  recovered  bis  epaulettes 
and  secured  the  Dantzic  be 

"  And  then,"  said  he,  "  I'll  marry  Clementine/' 


140  THE    MAN   WITH 

On  that  point  it  was  useless  to  argue  with  him ; 
the  idea  was  fixed. 

Everybody  slept  soundly  in  the  mansion  of  the 
Renaults  ;  the  heads  of  the  house,  because  they  had 
had  three  sleepless  nights ;  Fougas  and  Gothon,  be- 
cause eacli  had  been  unmercifully  pummelled  ;  and 
the  young  Celestin,  because  he  had  drunk  the  heel- 
taps from  all  the  glasses. 

The  next  morning  M.  Rollon  came  to  know  if 
Fougas  were  in  a  condition  to  breakfast  with  him  ; 
he  feared,  just  the  least  bit,  that  he  would  find  him 
under  a  shower  bath.  Far  from  it !  The  madman 
of  yesterday  was  as  calm  as  a  picture  and  as  fresh  as 
a  rosebud.  He  shaved  with  Leon's  razors,  while 
humming  an  air  of  Nicolo.  With  his  hosts,  he  was 
charming,  and  he  promised  to  settle  a  pension  on 
Gothon  out  of  Herr  Meiser's  legacy. 

As  soon  as  he  had  set  off  for  the  breakfast,  Leon 
ran  to  the  dwelling  of  his  sweetheart. 

"  Everything  is  going  better,"  said  he.  "  The 
Colonel  is  much  more  reasonable.  He  has  promised 
to  leave  for  Paris  this  very  day  ;  so  we  can  get  mar- 
ried to-morrow." 

Mile.  Virginie  Sambucco  praised  this  plan  of  pro- 
ceeding highly,  not  only  because  she  had  made  great 
preparations  for  the  wedding,  but  because  the  post- 
ponement of  the  marriage  would  be  the  talk  of  the 
town.  The  cards  were  already  out,  the  mayor  noti- 
fied, and  the  Virgin's  chapel,  in  the  parish  church, 
engaged.    To  revoke  all  this  at  the  caprice  of  a  ghost 


THE    BROKEN    EAR.  141 

and  a  fool,  would  be  to  sin  against  custom,  common 
sense,  and  Heaven  itself. 

Clementine  only  replied  with  tears.  She  could 
not  be  happy  without  marrying  Leon,  but  she  would 
rather  die,  she  said,  than  give  her  hand  without  the 
sanction  of  M.  Fougas.  She  promised  to  implore 
him,  on  her  knees  if  necessary,  and  wring  from  him 
his  consent. 

"  But  if  he  refuses  ?  And  it's  too  likely  that  he 
will !  " 

"  I  will  beseech  him  again  and  again,  until  he 
says  yes." 

Everybody  conspired  to  convince  her  that  she  was 
unreasonable — her  aunt,  Leon,  M.  and  Mme.  Renault, 
M.  Martout,  M.  Bonnivet,  and  all  the  friends  of  the 
two  families.  At  length  she  yielded,  but,  at  almost 
the  same  instant,  the  door  flew  open,  and  M.  Audret 
rushed  into  the  parlor,  crying  out, 

*'  Well,  well !  here  is  a  piece  of  news  !  Colonel 
Fougas  is  going  to  fight  M.  du  Marnet  to-morrow." 

The  young  girl  fell,  thunderstruck,  into  the  arms 
of  Leon  Renault. 

"  God  punishes  me  !  "  cried  she  ;  "  and  the  chas- 
tisement for  my  impiety  is  not  delayed.  Will  you 
still  force  me  to  obey  you  ?  Shall  I  be  dragged  to 
the  altar,  in  spite  of  myself,  at  the  very  hour  he's 
risking  his  life  ?  " 

No  one  dared  to  insist  longer,  on  seeing  her  in  so 
pitiable  a  state.  But  Leon  offered  up  earnest  prayers 
that  victory  might  side  with  the  colonel  of  cuiras- 


142  THE    MAN    WITH 

siers.  He  was  wrong,  I  confess ;  but  what  lover 
would  have  been  sinless  enough  to  cast  the  first  stone 
at  bim  ? 

And  here  is  an  account  of  how  the  precious  Fou- 
gas  had  spent  his  day. 

At  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning,  the  youngest  two 
captains  of  the  23d  came  to  conduct  him  in  proper 
style  to  the  residence  of  the  Colonel.  M.  Rollon 
occupied  a  little  palace  of  the  imperial  epoch.  A 
marble  tablet,  inserted  over  the  porte-cochere,  still 
bore  the  words,  Ministere  des  Finances — a  souvenir 
of  the  glorious  time  when  Xapoleon's  court  followed 
its  master  to  Fontainebleau. 

Colonel  Rollon,  the  lieutenant-colonel,  the  major- 
in-chief,  the  three  majors  of  battalions,  the  surgeon- 
major,  and  ten  or  a  dozen  officers  were  outside,  await- 
ing the  arrival  of  the  illustrious  guest  from  the  other 
world.  The  flag  was  placed  in  the  middle  of  the 
court,  under  guard  of  the  ensign  and  a  squad  of  non- 
commissioned officers  selected  for  the  honor.  The 
band  of  the  regiment,  at  the  entrance  of  the  garden, 
filled  up  the  background  of  the  picture.  Eight  pano- 
plies of  arms,  which  had  been  improvised  the  same 
morning  by  the  armorers  of  the  corps,  embellished 
the  walls  and  railings.  A  company  of  grenadiers, 
with  their  arms  at  rest,  were  in  attendance. 

At  the  entrance  of  Fougas,  the  band  played  the 
famous  "  Partant  pour  la  Syrie  ;  "  the  grenadiers 
presented  arms  ;  the  drums  beat  a  salute ;  the  non- 
commissioned officers  and  soldiers  cried,  "  Vive  le 


THE    BROKEN    EAR.  143 

Colonel  Fougas  !  "  the  officers,  in  a  body,  approached 
the  patriarch  of  their  regiment.  All  this  was  neither 
regular  nor  according  to  discipline,  hut  we  can  wel] 
allow  a  little  latitude  to  these  brave  soldiers  on  rind- 
ing their  ancestor.  For  them  it  seemed  a  little 
debauch  in  glory. 

The  hero  of  the  fete  grasped  the  hands  of  the 
colonel  and  officers  with  as  much  emotion  as  if  he 
had  found  his  old  comrades  again.  He  cordially 
saluted  the  non-commissioned  officers  and  soldiers 
approached  the  flag,  bent  one  knee  to  the  eai'th, 
raised  himself  loftily,  grasped  the  staff,  turned  to- 
ward the  attentive  crowd,  and  said, 

"  My  friends,  under  the  shadow  of  the  flag,  a 
soldier  of  France,  after  forty-six  years  of  exile,  finds 
his  family  again  to-day.  All  honor  to  thee,  symbol 
of  our  fatherland,  old  partner  in  our  victories,  and 
heroic  support  in  our  misfortunes !  Thy  radiant 
eagle  has  hovered  over  prostrate  and  trembling  Eu- 
rope. Thy  bruised  eagle  has  again  dashed  obsti- 
nately against  misfortune,  and  terrified  the  sons  of 
Power.  Honor  to  thee,'  thou  who  hast  led  us  to 
glory,  and  fortified  us  against  the  clamor  of  despair ! 
I  have  seen  thee  ever  foremost  in  the  fiercest  dangers, 
proud  flag  of  my  native  land !  Men  have  fallen 
around  thee  like  grain  before  the  reaper  ;  while  thou 
alone  hast  shown  to  the  enemy  thy  front  unbending 
and  superb.  Bullets  and  cannon-shot  have  torn  thee 
with  wounds,  but  never  upon  thee  has  the  audacious 
strange1-  placed  his  hand.     May  the  future  deck  thy 


144  THE   MAN   WITH 

front  with  new  laurels !  Mayst  thou  conquer  new 
and  far-extending  realms,  which  no  fatality  shall  rob 
thee  of!  The  day  of  great  deeds  is  being  born 
again ;  believe  a  warrior,  who  has  risen  from  the 
tomb  to  tell  thee  so.  '  Forward  !  '  Yes,  I  swear  it 
by  the  spirit  of  him  who  led  us  at  Wagram.  There 
shall  be  great  days  for  France  when  thou  shalt 
shelter  with  thy  glorious  folds  the  fortunes  of  the 
brave  23d !  " 

Eloquence  so  martial  and  patriotic  stirred  all 
hearts.  Fougas  was  applauded,  feted,  embraced,  and 
almost  carried  in  triumph  into  the  banquet  hall. 

Seated  at  table  opposite  M.  Rollon,  as  if  he  were 
a  second  master  of  the  house,  he  breakfasted  heartily, 
talked  a  great  deal,  and  drank  more  yet.  You  may 
occasionally  meet,  in  the  world,  people  who  get 
drunk  without  drinking.  Fougas  was  far  from  being 
one  of  them.  He  never  felt  his  equanimity  seriously 
disturbed  short  of  three  bottles.  Often,  in  fact,  he 
went  much  further  without  yielding. 

The  toasts  presented  at  dessert  were  distinguished 
for  pith  and  cordiality.  I  would  like  to  recount  them 
in  order,  but  am  forced  to  admit  that  they  would 
take  up  too  much  room,  and  that  the  last,  which  were 
the  most  touching,  were  not  of  a  lucidity  absolutely 
Voltairian. 

They  arose  from  the  table  at  two  o'clock,  and 
betook  themselves  in  a  body  to  the  Cafe  3Iilitaire, 
where  the  officers  of  the  23d  placed  a  punch  before 
the  two  colonels.     They  had  invited,  with  a  feeling 


THE    BROKEN    EAR.  145 

of  eminent  propriety,  the  superior  officers  of  the  regi- 
ment of  cuirassiers. 

Fougas,  who  was  drunker,  in  his  own  proper  per- 
son, than  a  whole  battalion  of  Suisses,  distributed  a 
great  many  hand-shakings.  But  across  the  storm 
which  disturbed  his  spirit,  he  recognized  the  person 
and  name  of  M.  du  Marnet,  and  made  a  grimace. 
Between  officers,  and,  above  all,  between  officers  of 
different  arms  of  the  service,  politeness  is  a  little 
excessive,  etiquette  rather  severe,  amour-propre  some- 
what susceptible.  M.  du  Marnet,  who  was  preemi- 
nently a  man  of  the  world,  understood  at  once,  from 
the  attitude  of  M.  Fougas,  that  he  was  not  in  the 
presence  of  a  friend. 

The  punch  appeared,  blazing,  went  out  with  its 
strength  unimpaired,  and  was  dispensed,  with  a  big 
ladle,  into  threescore  glasses.  Fougas  drank  with 
everybody,  except  M.  du  Marnet.  The  conversation, 
which  was  erratic  and  noisy,  imprudently  raised  a 
question  of  comparative  merits.  An  officer  of  cuiras- 
siers asked  Fougas  if  he  had  seen  Bordesoulle's 
splendid  charge,  which  flung  the  Austrians  into  the 
valley  of  Plauen.  Fougas  had  known  General  Bor- 
desoulle  personally,  and  had  seen  with  his  own  eyes 
the  beautiful  heavy  cavalry  manoeuvre  which  decided 
the  victory  of  Dresden.  But  he  chose  to  be  disagree- 
able to  M.  du  Marnet,  by  affecting  an  air  of  igno- 
rance or  indifference. 

"  In  our  time,"  said  he,  "  the  cavalry  was  always 
brought  into   action    after  the  battle ;   we   employ 
7 


146  THE  MAN  WITH 

eel  it  to  bring  in  the  enemy  after  we  had  routed 
them." 

Here  a  great  outcry  arose,  and  the  glorious  name 
of  Murat  was  thrown  into  the  balance. 

"  Oh,  doubtless — doubtless  !  "  said  he,  shaking  his 
head.  "Murat  was  a  good  general  in  his  limited 
sphere ;  he  answered  perfectly  for  all  that  was 
wanted  of  him.  But  if  the  cavalry  had  Murat,  the 
infantry  had  Napoleon." 

M.  du  Marnet  observed,  judiciously,  that  Napo- 
leon, if  he  must  be  seized  upon  for  the  credit  of  any 
single  arm  of  the  service,  would  belong  to  the  artil- 
lery. 

"  With  all  my  heart,  monsieur,"  replied  Fougas  ; 
"  the  artillery  and  the  infantry.  Artillery  at  a  dis- 
tance, infantry  at  close  quarters — cavalry  off  at  one 
side." 

"  Once  more  I  beg  your  pardon,"  answered  M.  du 
Marnet ;  "  you  mean  to  say,  at  the  sides,  which  is  a 
very  different  matter." 

"  At  the  sides,  or  at  one  side,  I  don't  care  !  As 
for  me,  if  I  were  commander-in-chief,  I  woidd  set  the 
cavalry  aside." 

Several  cavalry  officers  had  already  flung  them- 
selves into  the  discussion.  M..du  Marnet  held  them 
back,  and  made  a  sign  that  he  wanted  to  answer 
Fougas  alone. 

"  And  why,  then,  if  you  please,  would  you  set 
the  cavalry  aside  ?  " 

"  Because  the  dragoon  is  an  incomplete  soldier." 


THE    BROKE X    EAR.  14? 

"  Incomplete  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sir  ;  and  the  proof  is,  that  the  Government 
has  to  buy  four  or  five  hundred  francs'  worth  of 
horse  in  order  to  complete  him.  And  when  the  horse 
receives  a  ball  or  a  bayonet  thrust,  the  dragoon  is  no 
longer  good  for  anything.  Have  you  ever  seen  a 
cavalryman  on  foot  ?     It  would  be  a  pretty  sight !  " 

"  I  see  myself  on  foot  every  day,  and  I  don't  see 
anything  particularly  ridiculous  about  it." 

"  I'm  too  polite  to  contradict  you." 

"  And  for  me,  sir,  I  am  too  just  to  combat  one 
paradox  with  another.  What  would  you  think  of  my 
logic,  if  I  were  to  say  to  you  (the  idea  is  not  mine — 
I  found  it  in  a  book),  if  I  were  to  say  to  you,  '  I 
entertain  a  high  regard  for  infantry,  but,  after  all,  the 
foot  soldier  is  an  incomplete  soldier,  deprived  of  his 
birthright,  an  inefficient  body  deprived  of  that  natu- 
ral complement  of  the  soldier,  called  a  horse !  I 
admire  his  courage,  I  perceive  that  he  makes  himself 
useful  in  battle  ;  but,  after  all,  the  poor  devil  has 
only  two  feet  at  his  command,  while  we  have  four ! ' 
You  see  fit  to  consider  a  dragoon  on  foot  ridiculous ; 
but  does  the  foot-soldier  always  make  a  very  brilliant 
appearance  when  one  sticks  a  horse  between  his  legs  ? 
I  have  seen  excellent  infantry  captains  cruelly  embar- 
rassed when  the  minister  of  war  made  them  majors. 
They  said,  scratching  their  heads, '  It's  not  over  when 
we've  mounted  a  grade  ;  we've  got  to  mount  a  horse 
in  the  bar  grain  ! '  " 

This  crude  pleasantry  amused  the  audience  for  a 


148  THE    MAN    WITH 

moment.     They  laughed,  and  the  mustard  mounted 
higher  and  higher  in  Fougas'  nose. 

"  In  my  time,"  said  he,  "  a  foot  soldier  became  a 
dragoon  in  twenty-four  hours  ;  and  if  any  one  would 
like  to  make  a  match  with  me  on  horseback,  sabre  in 
hand,  I'll  show  him  what  infantry  is !  " 

"  Monsieur,"  coolly  replied  M.  du  Mamet,  "  I 
hope  that  opportunities  will  not  be  lacking  to  you  in 
the  field  of  battle.  It  is  there  that  a  true  soldier 
displays  his  talents  and  bravery.  Infantry  and  cav- 
alry, we  alike  belong  to  France.  I  drink  to  her, 
Monsieur,  and  I  hope  you  will  not  refuse  to  touch 
glasses  with  me. — To  France  !  " 

This  was  certainly  well  spoken  and  well  settled. 
The  clicking  of  glasses  applauded  M.  du  Marnet. 
Fougas  himself  approached  his  adversaiy  and  drank 
with  him  without  reserve.  But  be  whispered  in  his 
ear,  speaking  very  thickly  : 

"  I  hope,  for  my  part,  that  you  will  not  refuse  the 
sabre-match  which  I  had  the  honor  to  propose  to 
you  ?  " 

"  As  you  please,"  said  the  colonel  of  cuirassiers. 

The  gentleman  from  the  other  world,  drunker 
than  ever,  went  out  of  the  crowd  with  two  officers 
whom  he  had  picked  up  hap-hazard.  He  declared  to 
them  that  he  considered  himself  insulted  by  M.  du 
Marnet,  that  a  challenge  had  been  given  and  ac- 
cepted, and  that  the  affair  was  going  on  swimmingly. 

" Especially," added  he  in  confidence,  "since  there 
is  a  lady  in  the  case  !   These  are  my  conditions — they 


THE   BROKEN    EAR.  149 

are  all  in  accordance  with  the  honor  of  the  infantry, 
the  army,  and  France :  we  will  fight  on  horseback, 
stripped  to  the  waist,  mounted  bareback  on  two  stal- 
lions. The  weapon — the  cavalry  sabre.  First  blood . 
I  want  to  chastise  a  puppy.  I  am  far  from  wishing 
to  rob  France  of  a  soldier." 

These  conditions  were  pronounced  absurd  by  M. 
du  Marnet's  seconds.  They  accepted  them,  neverthe- 
less, for  the  military  code  requires  one  to  face  all 
dangei's,  however  absurd. 

Fougas  devoted  the  rest  of  the  day  to  worrying 
the  poor  Renaults.  Proud  of  the  control  he  exer- 
cised over  Clementine,  he  declared  his  wishes  ;  swore 
he  would  take  her  for  his  wife  as  soon  as  he  had 
recovered  his  rank,  family,  and  fortune,  and  pro- 
hibited her  to  dispose  of  herself  before  that  time. 
He  broke  openly  with  Leon  and  his  parents,  refused 
to  accept  their  good  offices  any  longer,  and  quitted 
their  house  after  a  serious  passage  of  high  words. 
Leon  concluded  by  saying  that  he  would  only  give 
up  his  betrothed  with  life  itself.  The  Colonel  shrug- 
ged his  shoulders  and  turned  his  back,  carrying  off, 
without  stopping  to  consider  what  he  was' doing,  the 
father's  clothes  and  the  son's  hat.  He  asked  M. 
Rollon  for  five  hundred  francs,  engaged  a  room  at 
the  Hotel  du  Cadron-blen,  went  to  bed  without  any 
supper,  and  slept  straight  through  until  the  arrival 
of  his  seconds. 

There  was  no  necessity  for  giving  him  an  account 
of  what  had  passed  the  previous  day.     The  fogs  of 


150  THE   MAN   WITH 

punch  and  sleep  dissipated  themselves  in  an  instant. 
He  plunged  his  head  and  hands  into  a  basin  of  fresh 
water,  and  said : 

"  So  much  for  my  toilet !  Now,  Vive  PMnpereur  ! 
Let's  go  and  get  into  line  !  " 

The  field  selected  by  common  consent  was  the 
parade-ground — a  sandy  plain  enclosed  in  the  forest, 
at  a  good  distance  from  the  town.  All  the  officers 
of  the  garrison  betook  themselves  there  of  their  own 
accord  ;  there  would  have  been  no  need  of  inviting 
them.  More  than  one  soldier  went  secretly  and  bil- 
leted himself  in  a  tree.  The  gendarmerie  itself  or- 
namented the  little  family  fete  with  its  presence. 
People  went  to  see  an  encounter  in  chivalric  tourney, 
not  merely  between  the  infantry  and  the  cavalry,  but 
between  the  old  army  and  the  young.  The  exhibi- 
tion fully  satisfied  public  expectation.  No  one  was 
tempted  to  hiss  the  piece,  and  everybody  had  his 
money's  worth. 

Precisely  at  nine  o'clock,  the  combatants  entered 
the  lists,  attended  by  their  four  seconds  and  the  um- 
pire of  the  field.  Fougas,  naked  to  the  waist,  was 
as  handsome  as  a  young  god.  His  lithe  and  agile 
figure,  his  proud  and  radiant  features,  the  manly 
grace  of  his  movements,  assured  him  a  flattering 
reception.  He  made  his  English  horse  caper,  and 
saluted  the  lookers-on  with  the  point  of  his  sword. 

M.  du  Marnet,  a  man  rather  of  the  German  type, 
hardy,  quite  hairy,  moulded  like  the  Indian  Bacchus, 
and  not  like  Achilles,  showed  in  his  countenance  a 


THE    BEOKEN    EAE.  151 

slight  shade  of  disgust.  It  was  not  necessary  to  be  a 
magician  to  understand  that  this  duel  in  naturaUbics, 
under  the  eyes  of  his  own  officers,  appeared  to  him 
useless  and  even  ridiculous.  His  horse  was  a  half- 
blood  from  Perche,  a  vigorous  beast  and  full  of  fire. 

Fousras'  seconds  rode  badlv  enough.  They  di- 
vided  their  attention  between  the  combat  and  their 
stirrups.  M.  du  Marnet  had  chosen  the  best  two 
horsemen  in  his  regiment,  a  major  and  captain.  The 
umpire  of  the  field  was  Colonel  Rollon,  an  excellent 
rider. 

At  a  signal  given  by  Colonel  Rollon,  Fougas  rode 
directly  at  his  adversary,  presenting  the  point  of  his 
sabre  in  the  position  of  "  prime,"  like  a  cavalry  sol- 
dier charging  infantry  in  a  hollow  square.  But  he 
reined  up  about  three  lengths  from  M.  du  Marnet, 
and  described  around  him  seven  or  eight  rapid 
circles,  like  an  Arab  in  a  play.  M.  du  Marnet,  being 
forced  to  turn  in  the  same  spot  and  defend  himself 
on  all  sides,  clapped  both  spurs  to  his  horse,  broke 
the  circle,  took  to  the  field,  and  threatened  to  com- 
mence the  same  manoeuvre  about  Fougas.  But  the 
gentleman  from  the  other  world  did  not  wait  for  him. 
He  rushed  off  at  a  full  gallop,  and  made  a  round  of 
the  hippodrome,  always  followed  by  M.  du  Marnet. 
The  cuirassier,  being  heavier,  and  mounted  on  a 
slower  horse,  was  distanced.  He  revenged  himself 
by  calling  out  to  Fougas  : 

"  Oh,  Monsieur  !  I  must  say  that  this  looks  more 


152  THE    MAN    WITH 

like  a  race  than  a  battle.     I  ought  to  have  brought  a 
riding-whip  instead  of  a  sword  !  " 

But  Fougas,  panting  and  furious,  had    already 
turned  upon  him. 

"  Hold  on  there  !  "  cried  he  ;  "I  have  shown  you 
the  horseman  ;  now  I  will  show  you  the  soldier  !  " 

He  lanched  a  thrust  at  him,  which  would  have 
gone  through  him  like  a  hoop  if  M.  du  Marnet  had 
not  been  as  prompt  as  at  parade.  He  retorted  by  a 
fine  cut  en  quarte,  powerful  enough  to  cut  the  invin- 
cible Fougas  in  two.  But  the  other  was  nimbler 
than  a  monkey.  He  wholly  shielded  his  body  by  let- 
ting himself  slide  to  the  ground,  and  then  remounted 
his  horse  in  the  same  second. 

"  My  compliments  !  "  said  M.  du  Marnet.  "  They 
don't  do  any  better,  than  that  in  the  circus." 

"  No  more  do  they  in  war,"  rejoined  the  other. 
"Ah,  scoundrel!  so  you  revile  the  old  army? 
Here's  at  you  !  A  miss  !  Thanks  for  the  retort,  but 
it's  not  good  enough  yet.  I'll  not  die  from  any  such 
thrust  as  that !  How  do  you  like  that  ? — and  that  ? 
— and  that  ?  Ah,  you  claim  that  the  foot-soldier  is 
an  incomplete  man  !  Now  we're  going  to  make  your 
assortment  of  limbs  a  little  incomplete.  Look  out 
for  your  boot !  He's  parried  it !  Perhaps  he  expects 
to  indulge  in  a  little  promenade  under  Clementine's 
windows  this  evening.  Take  care  !  Here's  for  Cle- 
mentine !  And  here's  for  the  infantry  !  Will  you 
parry  that  ?     So,  traitor  !     And  that  ?     So  he  does  I 


THE    BROKEN    EAR.  153 

Perhaps  you'll  parry  them  all,  then,  by  Heavens ! 
Victory  !  Ah,  Monsieur  !  Your  blood  is  flowing  S 
What  have  I  done  ?  Devil  take  the  sword,  the  horse, 
and  all !  Major  !  major  !  come  quickly  !  Monsieur, 
let  yourself  rest  in  my  arms.  Beast  that  I  am  !  As 
if  all  soldiers  were  not  brothers  !  Oh,  forgive  me, 
my  friend  !  "Would  that  I  could  redeem  each  drop 
of  your  blood  with  all  of  mine  !  Miserable  Fougas, 
incapable  of  mastering  his  fierce  passions  !  Ah,  you 
Esculapian  Mar's,  I  beg  you  tell  me  that  the  thread 
of  his  days  is  not  to  be  clipped !  I  will  not  survive 
him,  for  he  is  a  brave  !  " 

M.  du  Marnet  had  received  a  magnificent  cut 
which  traversed  the  left  arm  and  breast,  and  the 
blood  was  streaming  from  it  at  a  rate  to  make  one 
shudder.  The  surgeon,  who  had  provided  himself 
with  hemostatic  preparations,  hastened  to  arrest  the 
hemorrhage.  The  wound  was  long  rather  than  deep, 
and  could  be  cured  in  a  few  days.  Fougas  himself 
carried  his  adversary  to  the  carriage,  but  that  did  not 
satisfy  him.  He  firmly  insisted  on  joining  the  two 
officers  who  took  M.  du  Marnet  home  ;  he  over- 
whelmed the  wounded  man  with  his  protestations, 
and  was  occupied  during  most  of  the  ride  in  swear- 
ing eternal  friendship  to  him.  On  reaching  the  house, 
he  put  him  to  bed,  embraced  him,  bathed  him  with 
tears,  and  did  not  leave  him  for  a  moment  until  he 
heard  him  snoring. 

When  six  o'clock  struck,  he  went  to  dine  at  the 


15-i  THE    MAN   WITH   THE    BKOKEN    EAR. 

hotel,  in  company  with  his  seconds  and  the  referee, 
all  of  whom  he  had  invited  after  the  fight.  He 
treated  them  magnificently,  and  got  drunk  himself,  a? 
usual. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

Df  WHICH  THE  READER  WILL  SEE  THAT  IT  IS  NOT  FAR 
FROM  THE  CAPITAL  TO  THE  TARPEIAN  ROCK. 

The  next  day,  after  a  visit  to  M.  du  Marnet,  he 
wrote  thus  to  Clementine  : 

"  Light  of  my  life,  I  am  about  to  quit  these  scenes,  the  wit- 
nesses of  my  fatal  courage  and  the  repositories  of  my  love.  To  the 
bosom  of  the  capital,  to  the  foot  of  the  throne,  I  will  first  betake 
my  steps.  If  the  successor  of  the  God  of  Combats  is  not  deaf  to 
the  voice  of  the  blood  that  courses  in  his  veins,  he  will  restore  me 
my  sword  and  epaulettes,  so  that  I  may  lay  them  at  thy  feet.  Be 
faithful  to  me — wait,  hope  !  May  these  lines  be  to  thee  a  talisman 
against  the  dangers  threatening  thy  independence.  Oh,  my  Cle- 
mentine, tenderly  guard  thyself  for  thy 

y  "  Victor  Fougas  !" 

Clementine  sent  him  no  answer,  but,  just  as  he 
was  getting  on  the  train,  he  was  accosted  by  a  mes- 
senger, who  handed  him  a  pretty  red  leather  pocket- 
book,  and  ran  away  with  all  his  might.  The  pocket- 
book  was  entirely  new,  solid,  and  carefully  fastened. 
It  contained  twelve  hundred  francs  in  bank  notes — 
all  the  young  girl's  savings.  Fougas  had  no  time  to 
deliberate  on   this  delicate  circumstance.      He  was 


150  THE    MAN    WITH 

pushed  into  a  car,  the  locomotive  puffed,  and  the 
train  started. 

The  Colonel  began  to  review  in  his  memory  the 
various  events  which  had  succeeded  each  other  in  his 
life  during  less  than  a  week.  His  arrest  among  the 
frosts  of  the  Vistula,  his  sentence  to  death,  his  im- 
prisonment in  the  fortrsss  of  Liebenfeld,  his  reawak- 
ening at  Fontainebleau,  the  invasion  of  1814,  the 
return  from  the  island  of  Elba,  the  hundred  days, 
the  death  of  the  emperor  and  the  king  of  Rome,  the 
restoration  of  the  Bonapartes  in  1852,  his  meeting 
with  a  young  girl  who  was  the  counterpart  of  Cle- 
mentine Pichon  in  all  respects,  the  flag  of  the  23d, 
the  duel  with  the  colonel  of  cuirassiers — all  this,  for 
Fougas,  had  not  taken  up  more  than  four  days.  The 
night  reaching  from  the  11th  of  November,  1813,  to 
the  17th  of  August,  1859,  seemed  to  him  even  a  little 
shorter  than  any  of  the  others  ;  for  it  was  the  only 
time  that  he  had  had  a  full  sleep,  without  any  dream- 
ing. 

A  less  active  spirit,  and  a  heart  less  warm,  would, 
perhaps,  have  lapsed  into  a  sort  of  melancholy.  For, 
in  fact,  one  who  has  been  asleep  for  forty-six  years 
would  naturallv  become  somewhat  alien  to  mankind 
in  general,  even  in  his  own  country.  Not  a  relation, 
not  a  friend,  not  a  familiar  face,  on  the  whole  face 
of  the  earth !  Add  to  this  a  multitude  of  new 
words,  ideas,  customs,  and  inventions,  which  make 
him  feel  the  need  of  a  cicerone,  and  prove  to  him 
that  he  is  a  stranger.     But  Fougas,  on  reopening  his 


THE   BE0KEK    EAE.  157 

eyes,  following  the  precept  of  Horace,  was  thrown 
Into  the  very  midst  of  action.  He  had  improvised 
for  him  friends,  enemies,  a  sweetheart,  and  a  rival. 
Fontainebleau,  his  second  native  place,  was,  provis- 
ionally, the  central  point  of  his  existence.  There 
he  felt  himself  loved,  hated,  feared,  admired — in  a 
word,  well  known.  He  knew  that  in  that  sub-pre- 
fecture his  name  could  not  be  spoken  without  awak- 
ening- an  echo.  But  what  attached  him  more  than  all 
to  modern  times,  was  his  well-established  relationship 
with  the  great  family  of  the  army.  Wherever  a 
French  flag  floats,  the  soldier,  young  or  old,  is  at 
home.  Around  that  church-spire  of  the  fatherland, 
though  dear  and  sacred  in  a  way  different  from  the 
village  spire,  language,  ideas,  and  institutions  change 
but  little.  The  death  of  individuals  has  little  effect ; 
they  are  replaced  by  others  who  look  like  them,  and 
think,  talk,  and  act  in  the  same  way ;  who  do  not  stop 
on  assuming  the  uniform  of  their  predecessors,  but  in- 
herit their  souvenirs  also — the  glory  they  have  ac- 
quired, their  traditions,  their  jests,  and  even  certain 
intonations  of  their  voices.  This  accounts  for  Fougas' 
sudden  friendship,  after  a  first  feeling  of  jealousy,  for 
the  new  colonel  of  the  23d  ;  and  the  sudden  sym- 
pathy which  he  evinced  for  M.  du  Marnet  as  soon  as 
be  saw  the  blood  running  from  his  wound.  Quarrels 
between  soldiers  are  family  quarrels,  which  never 
blot  out  the  relationship. 

Calmly  satisfied   that  he  was  not  alone  in   the 
world,  M.  Fougas  derived  pleasure  from  all  the  new 


158  THE    MAN    WITH 

objects  which  civilization  placed  before  his  eyes. 
The  speed  of  the  rail-cars  fairly  intoxicated  him.  He 
was  inspired  with  a  positive  enthusiasm  for  this  force 
of  steam,  whose  theory  was  a  closed  book  to  him, 
but  on  whose  results  he  meditated  much. 

"  With  a  thousand  machines  like  this,  two  thou- 
sand rifled  cannon,  and  two  hundred  thousand  such 
chaps  as  I  am,  Napoleon  would  have  conquered  the 
world  in  six  weeks.  Why  doesn't  this  young  fellow 
on  the  throne  make  some  use  of  the  resources  he  has 
under  his  control  ?  Perhaps  he  hasn't  thought  of  it. 
Very  well,  I'll  go  to  see  him.  If  he  looks  like  a  man 
of  capacity,  I'll  give  him  my  idea  ;  he'll  make  me 
minister  of  war,  and  then — Forward,  march  !  " 

He  had  explained  to  him  the  use  of  the  great  iron 
wires  running  on  poles  all  along  the  road. 

"  The  very  thing !  "  said  he.  "  Here  are  aides-de- 
camp both  fleet  and  judicious.  Get  them  all  into  the 
hands  of  a  ehief-of-staff  like  Berthier,  and  the  uni- 
verse would  be  held  in  a  thread  by  the  mere  will  of 
a  man  !  " 

His  meditations  were  interrupted,  a  couple  of 
miles  from  Melun,  by  the  sounds  of  a  foreign  lan- 
guage. He  pricked  up  his  ears,  and  then  bounded 
from  his  corner  as  if  he  had  sat  on  a  pile  of  thorns. 
Horror !  it  was  English !  One  of  those  monsters 
who  had  assassinated  Napoleon  at  St.  Helena  for  tha- 
sake  of  insuring  to  themselves  the  cotton  monopoly, 
had  entered  the  compartment  with  a  very  pretty 
woman  and  two  lovely  children. 


THE    BROKEN    EAR.  159 

"  Conductor,  stop  !  "  cried  Fougas,  thrusting  his 
body  halfway  out  of  the  window. 

"  Monsieur,"  said  the  Englishman  in  good  French, 
"  I  advise  you  to  have  patience  until  we  get  to  the 
next  station.  The  conductor  doesn't  hear  you,  and 
you're  in  danger  of  falling  out  on  the  track.  If  I  can 
be  of  any  service  to  you,  I  have  a  flask  of  brandy 
with  me,  and  a  medicine  chest." 

"  No,  sir,"  replied  Fougas  in  a  most  supercilious 
tone,  "  I'm  in  want  of  nothing,  and  I'd  rather  die 
than  accept  anything  from  an  Englishman !  If  I'm 
calling  the  conductor,  it's  only  because  I  want  to  get 
into  a  different  car,  and  cleanse  my  eyes  from  the 
sight  of  an  enemy  of  the  Emperor." 

"  I  assure  you,  monsieur,"  responded  the  English- 
man, "  that  I  am  not  an  enemy  of  the  Emperor.  I 
had  the  honor  of  being  received  by  him  while  he  was 
in  London.  He  even  deigned  to  pass  a  few  days  at 
my  little  country-seat  in  Lancashire." 

"  So  much  the  better  for  you,  if  this  young  man 
is  good  enough  to  forget  what  you  have  done  against 
his  family  ;  but  Fougas  will  never  forgive  your  crimes 
against  his  country." 

As  soon  as  they  arrived  at  the  station  at  Melun, 
he  opened  the  door  and  rushed  into  another  saloon. 
There  he  found  himself  alone  in  the  presence  of  two 
young  gentlemen,  whose  physiognoinies  Avere  far  from 
English,  and  who  spoke  French  with  the  purest  ac- 
cent of  Touraine.  Both  had  coats  of  arms  on  their 
6eal-rings,  so  that  no  one  might  be  ignorant  of  their 


160  THE    MAN    WITH 

rank  is  nobles.  Fougas  was  too  plebeian  to  fancy 
the  nobility  much  ;  but  as  he  had  left  a  compartment 
full  of  Britons,  he  was  happy  to  meet  a  couple  of 
Frenchmen. 

"  Friends,"  said  he,  inclining  toward  them  with  a 
cordial  smile,  "  we  are  children  of  the  same  mother. 
Long  life  to  you  !     Your  appearance  revives  me." 

The  two  young  gentlemen  opened  their  eyes  very 
wide,  half  bowed,  and  resumed  their  conversation, 
without  making  any  other  response  to  Fougas'  ad- 
vance. 

"  Well,  then,  my  dear  Astophe,"  said  one,  "  you 
saw  the  king  at  Froshdorf  ?  " 

"  Yes,  my  good  Americ ;  and  he  received  me 
with  the  most  affecting  condescension.  '  Vicomte,' 
said  he  to  me,  '  you  come  of  a  house  well  known  for 
its  fidelity.  We  will  remember  you  when  God  re- 
places us  on  the  throne  of  our  ancestors.  Tell  our 
brave  nobility  of  Touraine  that  we  hope  to  be  re- 
membered in  their  prayers,  and  that  we  never  forget 
them  in  ours.'  " 

"  Pitt  and  Coburg  !  "  said  Fougas  between  his 
teeth.  "  Here  are  two  little  rascals  conspiring  with 
the  army  of  Conde  !     But,  patience  !  " 

He  clenched  his  fists  and  opened  his  ears. 

"  Didn't  he  say  anything  about  politics  ?  " 

"  A  few  vague  words.  Between  us,  I  don't  think 
he  bothers  with  them  much ;  he  is  waiting  upon 
events." 

"  He'll  not  wait  much  longer." 


THE    BROKEX    EAR.  1G1 

«  Who  can  tell  ?  " 

"  What !  Who  can  tell  ?  The  empire  is  not  good 
for  six  months  longer.  Monseigneur  cle  Montereau 
said  so  again  last  Monday  to  my  aunt  the  canoness." 

"  For  my  part,  I  give  them  a  year,  for  their  cam- 
paign in  Italy  has  strengthened  them  with  the  lower 
orders.  I  didn't  put  myself  out  to  tell  the  king  so, 
though !  " 

"  Damnation !  gentlemen,  this  is  going  it  a  little 
too  strongly  !  "  interrupted  Fougas.  "  Is  it  here  in 
France  that  Frenchmen  speak  thus  of  French  institu- 
tions ?  Go  back  to  your  master  ;  tell  him  that  the 
empire  is  eternal,  because  it  is  founded  on  the  granite 
of  popular  support,  and  cemented  by  the  blood  of 
heroes.  And  if  the  king  asks  you  who  told  you  this, 
tell  him  it  was  Colonel  Fougas,  who  was  decorated 
at  Wagram  by  the  Emperora  own  hand  !  " 

The  two  young  gentlemen  looked  at  each  other, 
exchanged  a  smile,  and  the  Viscount  said  to  the 
Marquis  : 

"  What  is  that  ?  " 

"  A  madman." 

"  No,  dear  ;  a  mad  dog." 

"  Nothing  else."  6 

"  Very  well,  gentlemen,"  cried  the  Colonel.  "  Speak 
English  ;  you're  fit  for  it !  " 

He  changed  his  compartment  at  the  next  station, 
and  fell  in  with  a  lot  of  young  painters.  He  called 
them  disciples  of  Zeuxis,  and  asked  them  about 
Gerard,  Gros,  and  David.     These  gentlemen  found 


162  THE   MAN   WITH 

the  sport  novel,  and  recommended  him  to  go  and  sea 
Talma  in  the  new  tragedy  of  Arnault. 

The  fortifications  of  Paris  dazzled  him  very  much, 
and  scandalized  him  a  little. 

"  I  don't  like  this,"  said  he  to  his  companions. 
"  The  true  rampart  of  a  capital  is  the  courage  of  a 
great  people.  This  piling  bastions  around  Paris,  is 
saying  to  the  enemy  that  it  is  possible  to  conquer 
France." 

The  train  at  last  stopped  at  the  Mazas  station. 
The  Colonel,  who  had  no  baggage,  marched  out  pom- 
pously, with  his  hands  in  his  pockets,  to  look  for  the 
hotel  de  Nantes.  As  he  had  spent  three  months  in 
Paris  about  the  year  1810,  he  considered  himself 
acquainted  with  the  city,  and  for  that  reason  he 
did  not  fail  to  lose  himself  as  soon  as  he  got  there. 
But  in  the  various  quarters  which  he  traversed  at 
hazard,  he  admired  the  great  changes  which  had  been 
wrought  during  his  absence.  Fougas'  taste  was  for 
having  streets  very  long,  very  wide,  and  bordered 
with  very  large  houses  all  alike  ;  he  could  not  fail  to 
notice  that  the  Parisian  style  was  rapidly  approach- 
ing his  ideal.  It  was  not  yet  absolute  perfection,  but 
progress  was  manifest. 

By  a  very  natural  illusion,  he  paused  twenty  times 
to  salute  people  of  familiar  appearance  ;  but  no  one 
recognized  him. 

After  a  walk  of  five  hours  he  reached  the  Place 
da  Carrousel.  The  hotel  de  JVantes  was  no  longer 
there ;    but  the  Louvre  had  been  erected    instead. 


THE    BROKEX    EAR.  1C3 

Fougas  employed  a  quarter  of  an  hour  in  regading  this 
monument  of  architecture,  and  half  an  hour  in  con- 
templating two  Zouaves  of  the  guard  who  were  play 
mg  piquet.  He  inquired  if  the  Emperor  was  in 
Paris  ;  whereupon  his  attention  was  called  to  the  flag 
floating  over  the  Tuilleries. 

"  Good  !  "  said  he.  "  But  first  I  must  get  some 
new  clothes." 

He  took  a  room  in  a  -hotel  on  the  Hue  Saint 
Honore,  and  asked  a  waiter  which  was  the  most 
celebrated  tailor  in  Paris.  The  waiter  handed  him  a 
Business  Directory.  Fougas  hunted  out  the  Empe- 
ror's bootmaker,  shirtmaker,  hatter,  tailor,  barber,  and 
glovemaker.  He  took  down  their  names  and  ad- 
dresses in  Clementine's  pocket-book,  after  which  he 
took  a  carriage  and  set  out. 

As  he  had  a  small  and  shapely  foot,  he  found 
boots  ready-made  without  any  difficulty.  He  was 
promised,  too,  that  all  the  linen  he  required  should 
be  sent  home  in  the  evening.  But  when  he  came  to 
explain  to  the  hatter  what  sort  of  an  apparatus  he 
intended  to  plant  on  his  head,  he  encountered  great 
difficulties.  His  ideal  was  an  enormous  hat,  large  at 
the  crown,  small  below,  broad  in  the  brim,  and  curved 
far  down  behind  and  before  ;  in  a  word,  the  historic 
heirloom  to  which  the  founder  of  Bolivia  gave  his 
name  long  ago.  The  shop  had  to  be  turned  upside 
down,  and  all  its  recesses  searched,  to  find  what  he 
wanted. 

"  At  last,"  cried  the  hatter,  "  here's  your  article- 


164  THE   MAT?   WITH 

If  it's  for  a  stage  dress,  you  ought  to  be  satisfied ;  the 
comic  effect  can  be  depended  upon." 

Fougas  answered  dryly,  that  the  hat  was  much 
less  ridiculous  than  all  those  which  were  then  cir- 
culating around  the  streets  of  Paris. 

At  the  celebrated  tailor's,  in  the  Hue  cle  la  Paix, 
there  was  almost  a  battle. 

"  ISTo,  monsieur,"  said  Alfred,  "  I'll  never  make 
you  a  frogged  surtout  and  a  pair  of  trousers  a  la  Cosa- 
que !  Go  to  Babin,  or  Morean,  if  you  want  a  car- 
nival dress  ;  but  it  shall  never  be  said  that  a  man  of 
as  good  figure  as  yours  left  our  establishment  cari- 
catured." 

"  Thunder  and  guns ! "  retorted  Fougas.  "  You're 
a  head  taller  than  I  am,  Mister  Giant,  but  I'm  a  colo- 
nel of  the  Grand  Empire,  and  it  won't  do  for  drum- 
majors  to  give  orders  to  colonels  !  " 

Of  course,  the  devil  of  a  fellow  had  the  last 
word.  His  measure  was  taken,  a  book  of  costumes 
consulted,  and  a  promise  made  that  in  twenty-four 
hours  he  should  be  dressed  in  the  height  of  the 
fashion  of  1813.  Cloths  were  presented  for  his  selec- 
tion, among  them  some  English  fabrics.  These  he 
threw  aside  with  disgust. 

"  The  blue  cloth  of  France,"  cried  he,  "  and  made 
in  France  !  And  cut  it  in  such  a  style  that  any  one 
seeing  me  in  Pekiu7  would  say,  '  That's  a  soldier  ! '  " 

The  officers  of  our  day  have  precisely  the  opposite 
fancy.  They  make  an  effort,  to  resemble  all  other 
"  gentlemen  "  "  when  they  assume  the  civilian's  dress. 


THE    BROKEN    EAR.  165 

Fougas  ordered,  in  the  Hue  Richelieu,  a  black 
satin  scarf,  which  hid  Lis  shirt,  and  reached  up  to  his 
ears.  Then  he  went  toward  the  Palais  Royal,  en- 
tered a  celebrated  restaurant,  and  ordered  his  dinner. 
For  breakfast  he  had  only  taken  a  bite  at  a  pastry- 
cook's in  the  Boulevard,  so  his  appetite,  which  had 
been  sharpened  by  the  excursion,  did  wonders.  He 
ate  and  drank  as  he  did  at  Fontainebleau.  But  the 
bill  seemed  to  him  hard  to  digest :  it  was  for  a 
hundred  and  ten  francs  and  a  few  centimes.  "  The 
devil !  "  said  he  ;  "  living  has  become  dear  in  Paris  !  " 
Brandy  entered  into  the  sum  total  for  an  item  of  nine 
francs.  They  had  given  him  a  bottle,  and  a  glass 
about  the  size  of  a  thimble ;  this  gimcrack  had 
amused  Fougas,  and  he  diverted  himself  by  filling 
and  emptying  it  a  dozen  times.  But  on  leaving  the 
table  he  was  not  drunk ;  an  amiable  gayety  inspired 
him,  but  nothing  more.  It  occurred  to  him  to  get 
back  some  of  his  money  by  buying  some  lottery 
tickets  at  Number  113.  But  a  bottle-seller  located  in 
that  building  apprised  him  that  France  had  not  gam- 
bled for  thirty  years.  He  pushed  on  to  the  Theatre 
Franqais,  to  see  if  the  Emperor's  actors  might  not  be 
giving  some  fine  tragedy,  but  the  poster  disgusted 
him.  Modern  comedies  played  by  new  actors !  Neither 
Talma,  nor  Fleury,  nor  Thenard,  nor  the  Baptistes, 
nor  Mile.  Mars,  nor  Mile.  Baucourt !  He  then  went 
to  the  opera,  where  Charles  VI.  was  being  given. 
The  music  astounded  him  at  once.  He  was  not  accus- 
tomed to  hear  so  much  noise  anywhere  but  on  the  bat' 


1 06  THE    MAN    WITH 

tie-field.  Nevertheless,  his  ears  soon  inured  themselves 
to  the  clangor  of  the  instruments  ;  and  the  fatigue 
of  the  day,  the  pleasure  of  being  comfortably  seated, 
and  the  labor  of  digestion,  plunged  him  into  a  doze. 
He  woke  up  with  a  start  at  this  famous  patriotic  song : 

"  G-uerre  aux  tyrans  !  jamais,  jamais  en  France, 
Jamais  V Anglais  ne  regnera  !  "9 

"  No  !  "  cried  he,  stretching  out  his  arms  toward 
the  stage.  "  Never !  Let  us  swear  it  together  on 
the  sacred  altar  of  our  native  land !  Perish,  perfidi- 
ous Albion  !      Vive  V Empereur  !  " 

The  pit  and  orchestra  arose  at  once,  less  to  ex- 
press accord  with  Fougas'  sentiments,  than  to  silence 
him.  During  the  following  entr'acte,  a  commissioner 
of  police  said  in  his  ear,  that  when  one  had  dined  as 
he  had,  one  ought  to  go  quietly  to  bed,  instead  of 
interrupting  the  performance  of  the  opera. 

He  replied  that  he  had  dined  as  usual,  and  that 
this  explosion  of  patriotic  sentiment  had  not  pro- 
ceeded from  the  stomach. 

"  But,"  said  he,  "  when,  in  this  palace  of  misused 
magnificence,  hatred  of  the  enemy  is  stigmatized  as 
a  crime,  I  must  go  and  breathe  a  freer  air,  and  bow 
before  the  temple  of  Glory  before  I  go  to  bed." 

"  You'll  do  well  to  do  so,"  said  the  policeman. 

He  went  out,  haughtier  and  more  erect  than  ever, 
reached  the  Boulevard,  and  ran  with  great  strides  as 
far  as  the  Corinthian  temple  at  the  end.  While  on 
his  way,  he  greatly  admired  the  lighting  of  the  city, 


THE    BROKEN   EAE.  161 

M.  Martout  had  explained  to  Mm  the  manufacture 
of  gas  ;  he  had  not  understood  anything  about  it,  hut 
the  glowing  and  ruddy  name  was  an  actual  treat  to 
his  eyes. 

As  soon  as  he  had  reached  the  monument  com- 
manding  the  entrance  to  the  Hue  Moyale,  he  stopped 
on  the  pavement,  collected  his  thoughts  for  an  in- 
stant, and  exclaimed : 

"  Oh,  Glory  !  Inspirer  of  great  deeds,  widow  of 
the  mighty  conqueror  of  Europe  !  receive  the  hom- 
age of  thy  devoted  Victor  Fougas  !  For  thee  I  have 
endured  hunger,  sweat,  and  frost,  and  eaten  the  most 
faithful  of  horses.  For  thee  I  am  readv  to  brave 
further  perils,  and  again  to  face  death  on  every  bat- 
tle-field. I  seek  thee  rather  than  happiness,  riches, 
or  power.  Reject  not  the  offering  of  my  heart  and 
the  sacrifice  of  my  blood !  As  the  price  of  such 
devotion,  I  ask  nothing  but  a  smile  from  thy  eyes 
and  a  laurel  from  thy  hand  !  " 

This  prayer  went  all  glowing  to  the  ears  of  Saint 
Marie  Madeleine^  the  patroness  of  the  ex-temple  of 
Glory.  Thus  the  purchaser  of  a  chateau  sometimes 
receives  a  letter  addressed  to  the  original  proprietor. 

Fougas  returned  by  the  Rue  de  la  Paix  and  the 
Place  Vre?idcme,  and  saluted,  in  passing,  the  only 
familiar  figure  he  had  yet  found  hi  Paris.  The  new 
costume  of  Napoleon  on  the  column  did  not  dis- 
please him  in  any  way.  He  preferred  the  cocked  hat 
to  a  crown,  and  the  gray  surtout  to  a  theatrical 
cloak. 


168  THE   HAN   "WITH 

The  night  was  restless.  In  the  Colonel's  brain  a 
thousand  diverse  projects  crossed  each  other  in  all 
directions.  He  prepared  the  little  speech  which  he 
should  make  to  the  Emperor,  going  to  sleep  in  the 
middle  of  a  phrase,  and  waking  up  with  a  start  in 
the  attempt  to  lay  hold  on  the  idea  which  had  so 
suddenly  vanished.  He  put  out  and  relit  his  candle 
twenty  times.  The  recollection  of  Clementine  was 
occasionally  intermingled  with  dreams  of  war  and 
political  Utopias.  But  I  must  confess  that  the  young 
girl's  figure  seldom  got  any  higher  than  the  second 
place. 

But  if  the  night  appeared  too  long,  the  morning 
seemed  short  in  proportion.  The  idea  of  meeting 
the  new  master  of  the  empire  face  to  face,  inspired 
and  chilled  him  in  turn.  For  an  instant  he  hoped 
that  something  would  be  lacking  in  his  toilet — that 
some  shopkeeper  would  furnish  him  an  honorable 
pretext  for  postponing  his  visit  until  the  next  day. 
But  everybody  displayed  the  most  desperate  punctu- 
ality. Precisely  at  noon,  the  trousers  d  la  Cosaque 
and  the  frogged  surtout  were  on  the  foot  of  the  bed 
opposite  the  famous  Bolivar  hat. 

"  I  may  as  well  be  dressing,"  said  Fougas.  "  Pos- 
sibly this  young  man  may  not  be  at  home.  In  that 
case  I'll  leave  my  name,  and  wait  until  he  sends  for 
me." 

He  got  himself  up  gorgeously  in  his  own  way, 
and,  although  it  may  appear  impossible  to  my 
readers,  Fougas,  in  a  black  satin  scarf  and  frogged 


THE   BROKEN  EAR.  169 

surtout,  was  not  homely  nor  even  ridiculous.  His 
tall  figure,  lithe  build,  lofty  and  impressive  carriage, 
and  brusque  movements,  were  all  in  a  certain  har- 
mony with  the  costume  of  the  olden  time.  He  ap- 
peared strange,  and  that  was  all.  To  keep  his  cour- 
age up,  he  dropped  into  a  restaurant,  ate  four  cutlets, 
a  loaf  of  bread,  a  slice  of  cheese,  and  washed  it  all 
down  with  two  bottles  of  wine.  The  coffee  and  sup- 
plements brought  him  up  to  two  o'clock,  and  that 
was  the  time  he  had  set  for  himself. 

He  tipped  his  hat  slightly  over  one  ear,  buttoned 
his  buckskin  gloves,  coughed  energetically  two  or 
three  times  before  the  sentinel  at  the  Hue  de  HivoN, 
and  marched  bravely  into  the  gate. 

"  Monsieur,"  cried  the  porter,  "  what  do.  you 
want  ?  " 

"  The  Emperor !  " 

"  Have  you  an  audience  letter  ?  " 

"  Colonel  Fougas  does  not  need  one.  Go  and  ask 
references  of  him  who  towers  over  the  Place  Ven- 
dome.  He'll  tell  you  that  the  name  of  Fougas  has 
always  been  a  synonym  for  bravery  and  fidelity." 

"  You  knew  the  first  Emperor  ?  " 

"  Yes,  my  little  joker ;  and  I  have  talked  with 
him  just  as  I  am  talking  with  you." 

"  Indeed  !     But  how  old  are  you  then  ?  " 

"  Seventy  years  on  the  dial-plate  of  time  ;  twenty 
four  years  on  the  tablets  of  History !  " 

The  port*  r  raised  his  eyes  to  Heaven,  and  mur 
mured : 


170  THE    MAN    WITH 

''Still  another!  This  makes  the  fourth  for  this 
week ! " 

He  made  a  sign  to  a  little  gentleman  in  black, 
who  was  smoking  his  pipe  in  the  court  of  the  Tuil- 
leriea.  Then  he  said  to  Fougas,  putting  his  hand  on 
his  arm  : 

"  So,  my  good  friend,  you  want  to  see  the  Em- 
peror ?  " 

"  I've  already  told  you  so,  familiar  individual !  " 

"  Very  well ;  you  shall  see  him  to-day.  That 
gentleman  going  along  there  with -the  pipe  in  his 
mouth,  is  the  one  who  introduces  visitors  ;  he  will 
take  care  of  you.  But  the  Emperor  is  not  in  the 
Palace  ;  he  is  in  the  country.  It's  all  the  same  to 
you,  isn't  it,  if  you  do  have  to  go  into  the  country  ?  " 

"  What  the  devil  do  you  suppose  I  care  ?  " 

"  Only  I  don't  suppose  you  care  to  go  on  foot.  A 
carriage  has  already  been  ordered  for  you.  Come, 
my  good  fellow,  get  in,  and  be  reasonable  !  " 

Two  minutes  later,  Fougas,  accompanied  by  a 
detective,  was  riding  to  a  police  station. 

His  business  was  soon  disposed  of.  The  commis- 
sary who  received  him  was  the  same  one  who  had 
spoken  to  him  the  previous  evening  at  the  opera.  A 
doctor  was  called,  and  gave  the  best  verdict  of  mono- 
mania that  ever  sent  a  man  to  Charenton.  All  this 
was  done  politely  and  pleasantly,  without  a  word 
which  could  put  the  Colonel  on  his  guard  or  give  him 
a  suspicion  of  the  fate  held  in  reserve  for  him.  He 
merely  found  the  ceremonial  rather  long  and  peculiar, 


THE   BK0KEN    EAE.  171 

and  prepared  on  the  spot  several  well-sounding  sen- 
tences, which  he  promised  himself  the  honor  of  re- 
peating to  the  Emperor. 

At  last  he  was  permitted  to  resume  his  route. 
The  hack  had  been  kept  waiting;  the  gentleman- 
usher  relit  his  pipe,  said  three  words  to  the  driver, 
and  seated  himself  at  the  left  of  the  Colonel.  The 
carriage  set  off  at  a  trot,  reached  the  Boulevards, 
and  took  the  direction  of  the  Bastille.  It  had  gotten 
opposite  the  Porte  Saint-Martin,  and  Fougas,  with 
his  head  at  the  window,  was  continuing  the  composi- 
tion of  his  impromptu  speech,  when  an  open  carriage 
drawn  by  a  pair  of  superb  chestnuts  passed,  so  to 
speak,  under  his  very  nose.  A  portly  man  with  a 
gray  moustache  turned  his  head,  and  cried,  "  Fougas  !  " 

Robinson  Crusoe,  discovering  the  human  foot- 
print on  his  island,  was  not  more  astonished  and 
delighted  than  our  hero  on  hearing  that  cry  of 
"  Fougas  !  "  To  open  the  door,  jump  out  into  the 
road,  run  to  the  carriage,  which  had  been  stopped, 
fling  himself  into  it  at  a  single  bound,  without  the 
help  of  the  step,  and  fall  into  the  arms  of  the  portly 
gentleman  with  the  gray  moustache,  was  all  the  work 
of  a  second.  The  barouche  had  long  disappeared, 
when  the  detective  at  a  gallop,  followed  by  his  hack 
at  a  trot,  traversed  the  line  of  the  Boulevards,  asking 
•  all  the  policemen  if  they  had  not  seen  a  crazy  man 
pass  that  way. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

IHE  MEMORABLE  INTERVIEW  BETWEEN  COLONEL  FOUG1S 
AND  HIS  MAJESTY  THE  EMPEROR  OF  THE  FRENCH. 

In  falling  upon  the  neck  of  the  big  man  with  the 
gray  moustache,  Fougas  supposed  he  was  embracing 
Massena.  He  naturally  intimated  as  much  to  him, 
whereupon  the  owner  of  the  barouche  burst  into  a 
great  peal  of  laughter. 

"  Ah,  my  poor  old  boy,"  said  he,  "  it's  a  long  time 
since  we  buried  the  '  Child  of  Victory  ! '  Look  me 
square  in  the  face :  I  am  Leblanc,  of  the  Russian 
campaign." 

"  Impossible  !     You  little  Leblanc  ?  " 

"  Lieutenant  in  the  3d  Artillery,  who  shared  with 
you  a  million  of  dangers  and  that  famous  piece  of 
roast  horse  which  you  salted  with  your  tears." 

"  Well,  upon  my  soul !  It  is  you  !  You  cut  me 
out  a  pair  of  boots  from  the  skin  of  the  unfortunate 
Zephyr !  And  we  needn't  speak  of  the  number  of 
times  you  saved  my  life  !  Oh,  my  brave  and  faithful 
friend,  thank  God  that  I  embrace  you  once  more ! 
Yes,  I  recognize  you  now ;  but  I  needn't  say  that 
you  are  changed  !  " 


THE   MAN"   WITH   THE   BROKEN   EAR.  173 

"  Gad !  I  haven't  been  preserved  in  a  jug  of 
spirits  of  wine      I've  lived,  for  my  part !  " 

"  You  know  my  history,  then  ?  " 

"I  heard  it  told  last  ni^ht  at  the  Minister's  of 
Public  Instruction.  He  had  there  the  savant  who 
set  you  on  your  legs  again.  I  even  wrote  to  you,  on 
getting  back  home,  to  offer  you  a  bunk  and  a  place 
at  mess ;  but  my  letter  is  on  the  way  to  Fontaine- 
bleau." 

"  Thanks  !  You're  a  sound  one  !  Ah,  my  poor 
old  boy,  what  things  have  happened  since  Beresina ! 
You  know  all  the  misfortunes  that  have  come  ?  " 

"  I've  seen  them,  and  that's  sadder  still.  I  was  a 
major  after  Waterloo ;  the  Bourbons  put  me  aside  on 
half-pay.  My  friends  got  me  back  into  servico  again 
in  1822,  but  I  bad  bad  luck,  and  lazed  around  in  gar- 
risons at  Lille,  Grenoble,  and  Strasburg,  without  get- 
ting ahead  any.  My  second  epaulette  did  not  reach 
me  till  1830  ;  then  I  took  a  little  turn  in  Africa.  I 
was  made  brigadier-general  at  Isly,  got  home  again, 
and  banged  about  from  pillar  to  post  until  1848.  Dur- 
ing that  year  we  had  a  June  campaign  in  Paris  itself. 
My  heart  still  bleeds  every  time  I  think  of  it,  and, 
ivpon  my  soul,  you're  blest  in  not  having  seen  it.  I 
got  three  balls  in  my  body  and  a  commission  as  gen- 
eral of  division.  After  all,  I've  no  right  to  complain, 
for  the  campaign  in  Italy  brought  me  good  luck 
Here  I  am,  Marshal  of  France,  with  a  hundred  thou 
sand  francs  income,  and  Duke  of  Solferino  in  the  bar 
gain.     Yes,  the  Emperor  has  put  a  handle  to  my 


174  THE   MAIf   WITH 

name.  The  fact  is,  that  short  '  Leblanc '  was  a  little 
too  short." 

"  Thunderation !  "  cried  Pougas,  "  that's  splendid  ! 
I  swear,  Leblanc,  that  I'm  not  jealous  of  your  good 
fortune  !  It's  seldom  enough  that  one  soldier  rejoices 
over  the  promotion  of  another  ;  but  indeed,  from  the 
bottom  of  my  heart,  I  assure  you  that  I  do  now.  It's 
all  the  better,  since  you  deserved  your  honors,  and 
the  blind  goddess  must  have  had  a  glimpse  of  your 
heart  and  talents,  over  the  bandage  that  covers  her 
eyes !  " 

"  You're  very  kind  !  But  let's  talk  about  your- 
self now  :  where  were  you  going  when  I  met  you  ?  " 

"  To  see  the  Emperor." 

"  So  was  I ;  but  where  the  devil  were  you  look- 
ing for  him  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know ;  somebody  was  showing  me  the 
way." 

"  But  he  is  at  the  Tuilleries  !  " 

"  No !  " 

"  Yes !  There's  something  under  all  this  ;  tell 
me  about  it." 

Fougas  did  not  wait  to  be  urged.  The  Marshal 
soon  understood  from  what  sort  of  danger  he  had 
extricated  his  friend. 

"  The  concierge  is  mistaken,"  said  he  ;  "  the  Em- 
peror is  at  the  Palace  ;  and,  as  we've  reached  there 
now,  come  with  me ;  perhaps  I  can  present  you  after 
my  audience." 

"  The  very  thing !      Leblanc,  my  heart  beats  at 


THE   BROKEN   EAR.  175 

the  idea  of  seeing  this  young  man.  Is  he  a  good 
one  ?  Can  he  be  counted  upon  ?  Is  he  anything  like 
the  otner  ?  " 

"  You  can  see  for  yourself.  Wait  here." 
The  friendship  of  these  two  men  dated  from  the 
winter  of  1812.  During  the  retreat  of  the  French 
army,  chance  flung  the  lieutenant  of  artillery  and  the 
colonel  of  the  23d  together.  One  was  eighteen  years 
old,  the  other  not  quite  twenty-four.  The  distance 
between  their  ranks  was  easily  bridged  over  by  com- 
mon danger.  All  men  are  equal  before  hunger,  cold, 
and  fatigue.  One  morning,  Leblanc,  at  the  head  of 
ten  men,  rescued  Fougas  from  the  hands  of  the  Cos- 
sacks ;  then  Fougas  sabred  a  half  dozen  stragglers 
who  were  trying  to  steal  Leblanc's  cloak.  A  week 
later,  Leblanc  pulled  his  friend  out  of  a  hut  which 
the  peasants  had  set  on  fire ;  and  Fougas,  in  turn, 
fished  Leblanc  out  of  the  Beresina.  The  list  of 
their  dangers  and  their  mutual  services  is  too  long 
for  me  to  give  entire.  To  finish  off,  the  Colonel,  at 
Koenigsberg,  passed  three  weeks  at  the  bedside  of 
the  lieutenant,  who  was  attacked  with  fever  and 
ague.  There  is  no  doubt  that  this  tender  care  saved 
his  life.  This  reciprocal  devotion  had  formed  be- 
tween them  bonds  so  strong  that  a  separation  of 
forty-six  years  could  not  break  them. 

Fougas,  alone  in  a  great  saloon,  was  buried  in  the 
recollections  of  that  good  old  time,  when  an  ushei 
asked  him  to  remove  his  gloves,  and  go  into  the  cabi- 
net of  the  Emperor. 


J  76  THE   MAN   WITH 

Respect  for  the  powers  that  be,  which  is  the  very 
foundation  of  my  character,  does  not  permit  me  to 
bring  august  personages  upon  the  scene.  But  Fougas' 
correspondence  belongs  to  contemporaneous  history, 
and  here  is  the  letter  which  he  wrote  to  Clementine 
on  returning  to  his  hotel : 

"  Paris  (what  am  I  saying  ?) — Heaven,  Aug.  21,  1859. 

"  Mr  sweet  Angel  :  I  am  intoxicated  with  joy,  gratitude,  and 
admiration.  I  have  seen  him,  I  have  spoken  to  him ;  he  gave  me 
his  hand,  he  made  me  be  seated.  He  is  a  great  prince  ;  he  will  be 
the  master  of  the  world.  He  gave  me  the  medal  of  St.  Helena, 
and  Ihe  Cross  of  an  Officer.  Little  Leblanc,  an  old  friend  and  a 
true  heart,  conducted  me  into  his  presence ;  he  is  Marshal  of 
France,  too,  and  a  Duke  of  the  new  empire  !  As  for  promotion, 
there's  no  more  need  of  speculation  on  that  head.  A  prisoner  of 
war  in  Prussia  and  in  a  triple  coffin,  I  return  with  my  rank ;  so 
says  the  military  law.  But  in  less  than  three  months  I  shall  be  a 
brigadier-general — that's  certain  ;  he  deigned  to  promise  it  to  me 
himself.  What  a  man  !  A  god  on  earth  !  No  more  conceited  than 
he  of  Wagram  and  Moscow,  and,  like  him,  the  father  of  the  soldier. 
He  wanted  to  give  me  money  from  his  private  purse  to  replace  my 
equipments.  I  answered,  '  No,  sire ;  I  have  a  claim  to  recover  at 
Dantzic ;  if  it  is  paid,  I  shall  be  rich ;  if  the  debt  is  denied,  my 
pay  will  suffice  for  me.'  Thereupon  (0  Beneficence  of  Princes, 
thou  art  not,  then,  but  an  empty  name  !)  he  smiled  slightly,  and 
said,  twisting  his  moustache,  '  You  remained  in  Prussia  from  1813  to 
1859?' — 'Yes,  sire.' — 'Prisoner  of  war  under  exceptional  condi- 
tions?'— 'Yes,  sire.' — 'The  treaties  of  1814  and  1815  stipulated 
for  the  release  of  prisoners  ?  ' — '  Yes,  sire.' — '  They  have  been  vio- 
lated, then,  in  your  case  ?  ' — '  Yes,  sire.' — '  Well,  then,  Prussia 
owes  you  an  indemnity.  I  will  see  that  it  is  recovered  by  diplo- 
matic proceedings.' — '  Yes  sire.  What  goodness  ! '  Now,  there's 
an  idea  which  would  never  have  occurred  to  me  !     To  squeeze 


THE   BROKEN   EAR.  Ill 

money  out  of  Prussia — Prussia,  who  showed  herself  so  greedy  fof 
our  treasures  in  1814  and  1815  !  Vive  VEmpeveur  !  My  well-be- 
loved Clementine  !  Oh,  may  our  glorious  and  magnanimous  sove- 
reign live  forever  !  Vivent  Vlmperalrice  et  le  Prince  Imperial  !  I 
saw  them  !  The  Emperor  presented  me  to  his  family  !  The  Prince 
is  an  admirable  little  soldier  !  He  condescended  to  beat  the  drum 
on  my  new  hat.  I  wept  with  emotion.  Her  Majesty  the  Empress 
said,  with  an  angelic  smile,  that  she  had  heard  my  misfortunes 
spoken  of.  '  Oh,  Madame  ! '  I  replied,  '  such  a  moment  as  this 
compensates  them  a  hundred  fold.' — '  You  must  come  and  dance 
at  the  Tuilleries  next  winter.' — '  Alas,  Madame,  I  have  never  danced 
but  to  the  music  of  cannon ;  but  I  shall  spare  no  effort  to  please 
you  !  I  will  study  the  art  of  Vestris.' — '  Pve  managed  to  learn  the 
quadrille  very  nicely,'  joined  in  Leblanc. 

"  The  Emperor  deigned  to  express  his  happiness  at  getting  back 
an  officer  like  me,  who  had  yesterday,  so  to  speak,  taken  part  in 
the  finest  campaigns  of  the  century,  and  retained  all  the  traditions 
of  the  great  war.  This  encouraged  me.  I  no  longer  feared  to 
remind  him  of  the  famous  principle  of  the  good  old  time — to  treat 
for  peace  only  in  capitals  !  '  Take  care  ! '  said  he  ;  '  it  was  on  the 
strength  of  that  principle  that  the  allied  armies  twice  came  to  settle 
the  basis  of  peace  at  Paris.' — '  They'll  not  come  here  again,'  cried 
I,  '  without  passing  over  my  body  ! '  I  dwelt  upon  the  troubles  apt 
to  come  from  too  much  intimacy  with  England.  I  expressed  a  hope 
of  at  once  proceeding  to  the  conquest  of  the  world.  First,  to  get 
back  our  frontiers  for  ourselves ;  next,  the  natural  frontiers  of 
Europe :  for  Europe  is  but  the  suburb  of  France,  and  cannot  be 
annexed  too  soon.  The  Emperor  shook  his  head  as  if  he  was  not 
of  my  opinion.  Does  he  entertain  peaceful  designs  ?  I  do  not  wish 
to  dwell  upon  this  idea ;  it  would  kill  me  ! 

"  He  asked  me  what  impressions  I  had  formed  regarding  the 
appearance  of  the  changes  which  had  been  made  in  Paris.  I  an- 
swered, with  the  sincerity  of  a  lofty  soul,  '  Sire,  the  new  Paris  is 
the  great  work  of  a  great  reign  ;  but  I  entertain  the  hope  that  your 
improvements  have  not  yet  had  the  finishing  touch.' — '  What  is  left 

8* 


178  THE   MAN    WITH 

to  be  done,  now,  in  your  opinion  ? ' — '  First  of  all,  to  remedy  the 
course  of  the  Seine,  whose  irregular  curve  is  positively  shocking. 
The  straight  line  is  the  shortest  distance  between  turo  points,  for 
rivers  as  well  as  boulevards.  In  the  second  place,  to  level  the 
ground  and  suppress  all  inequalites  of  surface  which  seem  to  say  to 
the  Government,  '  Thou  art  less  powerful  than  Nature  ! '  Having 
accomplished  this  preparatory  work,  I  would  trace  a  circle  three 
leagues  in  diameter,  whose  circumference,  marked  by  an  elegant, 
railing,  should  be  the  boundary  of  Paris.  At  the  centre  I  would 
build  a  palace  for  your  Majesty  and  the  princes  of  the  imperial  family 
— a  vast  and  splendid  edifice,  including  in  its  arrangements  all  the 
public  offices — the  staff  offices,  courts,  museums,  cabinet  offices, 
archives,  police,  the  Institute,  embassies,  prisons,  bank  of  France, 
lecture-rooms,  theatres,  the  Mbniteur,  imperial  printing  office,  man- 
ufactory of  Sevres  porcelain  and  Gobelin  tapestry,  and  commissary 
arrangements.  At  this  palace,  circular  in  form  and  of  magnificent 
architecture,  should  centre  twelve  boulevards,  a  hundred  and  twenty 
yards  wide,  terminated  by  twelve  railroads,  and  called  by  the  names 
of  twelve  marshals  of  France.  Each  boulevard  is  built  up  with 
uniform  houses,  four  stories  high,  having  in  front  an  iron  railing 
and  a  little  garden  three  yards  wide,  all  to  be  planted  with  the  same 
kind  of  flowers.  A  hundred  streets,  sixty  yards  wide,  should  con- 
nect the  boulevards  ;  these  streets  communicate  with  each  other  by 
lanes  thirty-five  yards  wide,  the  whole  built  up  uniformly  according 
to  official  plans,  with  railings,  gardens,  and  specified  flowers.  House- 
holders should  be  prohibited  from  allowing  any  business  to  be  con- 
ducted in  their  establishments,  for  the  aspect  of  shops  debases  the 
intellect  and  degrades  the  heart.  Merchants  could  be  permitted  to 
establish  themselves  in  the  suburbs  under  the  regulation  of  the  laws. 
The  ground  floors  of  all  the  houses  to  be  occupied  with  stables  and 
kitchens;  the  first  floors  let  to'persons  worth  an  income  of  a  hun- 
dred thousand  francs  and  over  ;  the  second,  to  those  worth  from 
eighty  to  a  hundred  thousand  francs;  the  third,  to  those  worth  from 
sixty  to  eighty  thousand  ;  the  fourth,  from  fifty  to  sixty  thousand. 
No  one  with  an  income  of  less  than  fifty  thousand  francs  should  be 


THE   BROKEN   EAR.  1*79 

permitted  to  live  in  Paris.  Workmen  are  to  be  lodged  ten  miles 
outside  of  the  boundary  in  workmen's  barracks.  We  will  exempt 
them  from  taxes  to  make  them  love  us ;  and  we'll  plant  cannon 
around  them  to  make  them  fear  us.  That's  my  Paris  ! '  The  Em- 
peror listened  to  me  patiently,  and  twisted  his  moustache.  '  Your 
plan,'  said  he,  '  would  cost  a  trifle.'—'  Not  much  more  than  the  one 
already  adopted,'  answered  I.  At  this  remark,  an  unreserved 
hilarity,  the  cause  of  which  I  am  unable  to  explain,  lit  up  his  seri- 
ous countenance.  '  Don't  you  think,'  said  he,  '  that  your  project 
would  ruin  a  great  many  people  ?  ' — '  Eh  !  What  difference  does  it 
make  to  me  ?  '  I  cried,  '  since  it  will  ruin  none  but  the  rich  ?  '  He 
began  laughing  again,  and  bid  me  farewell,  saying,  '  Colonel,  you 
will  have  to  remain  colonel  only  until  we  make  you  brigadier-gen- 
eral ! '  He  permitted  me  to  press  his  hand  a  second  time.  I  waved 
an  adieu  to  brave  Leblanc,  who  has  invited  me  to  dine  with  him 
this  evening,  and  I  returned  to  my  hotel  to  pour  my  joy  into  your 
sweet  soul.  Oh,  Clementine  !  hope  on  !  You  shall  be  happy,  and 
I  shall  be  great !  To-morrow  morning  I  leave  for  Dantzic.  Gold 
is  a  deception,  but  I  want  you  to  be  rich. 
"A  sweet  kiss  upon  your  pure  brow  ! 

"V.  Fougas." 

The  subscribers  to  La  Patrie,  who  keep  files  of 
their  paper,  are  hereby  requested  to  hunt  up  the 
number  for  the  23d  of  August,  1859.  In  it  they  will 
find  two  paragraphs  of  local  intelligence,  which  I 
have  taken  the  liberty  of  copying  here  : 

"  His  Excellency,  the  Marshal,  the  Duke  of  Sol- 
ferino,  yesterday  had  the  honor  of  presenting  to  his 
Majesty  the  Emperor  a  hero  of  the  first  Empire, 
Colonel  Fougas,  whom  an  almost  miraculous  event, 
already  mentioned  in  a  report  to  the  Academy  of 
Sciences,  has  restored  to  his  country." 


180  THE   MAN  WITH   THE   BROKEN   EAB. 

Such  was  the  first  paragraph  ;  here  is  the  second 
"  A  madman,  the  fourth  this  week,  but  the  most 
dangerous  of  all,  presented  himself  yesterday  at  one 
of  the  entrances  of  the  Tuilleries.  Decked  out  in  a 
grotesque  costume,  his  eyes  flashing,  his  hat  cocked 
over  his  ear,  and  addressing  the  most  respectable 
people  with  unheard-of  rudeness,  he  attempted  to 
force  his  way  past  the  sentry,  and  thrust  himself,  for 
what  purpose  God  only  knows,  into  the  presence  of 
the  Sovereign.  During  his  incoherent  ejaculations, 
the  following  words  were  distinguished :  '  bravery, 
Vendome  column,  fidelity,  the  dial-plate  of  time,  the 
tablets  of  history.'  When  he  was  arrested  by  one 
of  the  detective  watch,  and  taken  before  the  police 
commissioner  of  the  Tuilleries  section,  he  was  recog- 
nized as  the  same  individual  who,  the  evening  before, 
at  the  opera,  had  interrupted  the  performance  of 
Charles  VI.  with  most  unseemly  cries.  After  the 
customary  medical  and  legal  proceedings,  he  was 
ordered  to  be  sent  to  the  Charenton  Hospital.  But 
opposite  the  porte  Saint-Martin,  taking  advantage 
of  a  lock  among  the  vehicles,  and  of  the  Herculean 
strength  with  which  he  is  endowed,  he  wrested  his 
hands  from  his  keeper,  threw  him  down,  beat  him, 
leaped  at  a  bound  into  the  street,  and  disappeared  in 
the  crowd.  The  most  active  search  was  immediately 
set  on  foot,  and  we  have  it  from  the  best  authority 
that  the  police  are  already  on  the  track  of  the  fugi- 
tive." 


S- 


CHAPTER  XY1L 

WHEREIN    HERR  NICHOLAS    MEISER,  ONE  OF   THE    SOLID 
MEN  OF  DANTZIC,  RECEIVES  AN  UNWELCOME  VISIT. 

The  wisdom  of  mankind  declares  that  ill-gotten 
gains  never  do  any  good.  I  maintain  that  they  do 
the  robbers  more  good  than  the  robbed,  and  the  good 
fortune  of  Herr  Nicholas  Meiser  is  an  argument  in 
support  of  my  proposition. 

The  nephew  of  the  illustrious  physiologist,  after 
brewing  a  great  deal  of  beer  from  a  very  little  hops, 
and  prematurely  appropriating  the  legacy  intended 
for  Fougas,  had  amassed,  by  various  operations,  a 
fortune  of  from  eight  to  ten  millions.  "  In  what  kind 
of  operations  ?  "  No  one  ever  told  me,  but  I  know 
that  he  called  all  operations  that  would  make  money, 
good  ones.  To  lend  small  sums  at  a  big  interest,  to 
accumulate  great  stores  of  grain  in  order  to  relieve  a 
scarcity  after  producing  it  himself,  to  foreclose  on 
unfortunate  debtors,  to  fit  out  a  vessel  or  two  for 
trade  in  black  flesh  on  the  African  coast — such  are 
specimens  of  the  speculations  which  the  good  man 
did  not  despise.  He  never  boasted  of  them,  for  he 
was  modest ;  but  he  never  blushed  for  them,  for  he 


182  THE   MAN   WITH 

had  expanded  Lis  conscience  simultaneously  with  his 
capital.  As  foi'  the  rest,  he  was  a  man  of  honor,  in 
the  commercial  sense  of  the  word,  and  capable  of 
strangling  the  whole  human  race  rather  than  of  let- 
ting his  signature  be  protested.  The  banks  of  Danfr 
zic,  Berlin,  Vienna,  and  Paris,  held  him  in  high 
esteem  ;  his  money  passed  through  all  of  them. 

He  was  fat,  unctuous,  and  florid,  and  lived  well. 
His  wife's  nose  was  much  too  long,  and  her  bones 
much  too  prominent,  but  she  loved  him  with  all  her 
heart,  and  made  him  little  sweetmeats.  A  perfect 
congeniality  of  sentiment  united  this  charming  couple. 
They  talked  with  each  other  with  open  hearts,  and 
never  thought  of  keeping  back  any  of  their  evil 
thoughts.  Every  year,  at  Saint  Martin's  day,  when 
rents  became  due,  they  turned  out  of  doors  the  fami- 
lies of  five  or  six  workmen  who  could  not  pay  for 
their  terms  ;  but  they  dined  none  the  worse  after  it, 
and  their  good-night  kiss  was  none  the  less  sweet. 

The  husband  was  sixty-six  years  old,  the  wife 
sixty-four.  Their  physiognomies  were  such  as  inspire 
benevolence  and  command  respect.  To  complete 
their  outward  resemblance  to  the  patriarchs,  nothing 
was  needed  but  children  and  grand-children.  Nature 
had  given  them  one  son — an  only  one,  because  they 
had  not  solicited  Nature  for  more.  They  woidd  have 
thought  it  criminal  improvidence  to  divide  their  for- 
tune among  several.  Unhappily,  this  only  child,  the 
heir-presumptive  to  so  many  millions,  died  at  the 
University  of  Heidelberg  from  eating  too  many  sau- 


THE   BKOKEX   EAR.  18 


e 


sages.  He  set  out,  when  lie  was  twenty,  for  that 
Valhalla  of  German  students,  where  they  eat  infinite 
sausages,  and  drink  inexhaustible  beer ;  where  they 
sing  songs  of  eight  hundred  million  verses,  and  gash 
the  tips  of  each  other's  noses  with  huge  swords. 
Envious  Death  snatched  him  from  his  parents  when 
they  were  no  longer  of  an  age  to  improvise  a  suc- 
cessor. The  unfortunate  old  millionnaires  tenderly 
collected  his  effects,  to  sell  them.  During  this  opera- 
tion, so  trying  to  their  souls  (for  there  was  a  great 
deal  of  bran-new  linen  that  could  not  be  found),  Nich- 
olas Meiser  said  to  his  wife,  "  My  heart  bleeds  a"  the 
idea  that  our  buildings  and  dollars,  our  goods  above 
ground  and  under,  should  go  to  strangers.  Parents 
ought  always  to  have  an  extra  son,  just  as  they  have 
a  vice-umpire  in  the  Chamber  of  Commerce." 

But  Time,  who  is  a  great  teacher  in  Germany  and 
several  other  countries,  led  them  to  see  that  there  is 
consolation  for  all  things  except  the  loss  of  money. 
Five  years  afterwards,  Frau  Meiser  said  to  her  hus- 
band, with  a  tender  and  philosophic  smile:  "Who 
can  fathom  the  decrees  of  Providence  ?  Perhaps  your 
son  would  have  brought  us  to  a  crust.  Look  at  Theo- 
bald Scheffler,  his  old  comrade.  He  wasted  twenty 
thousand  francs  at  Paris  on  a  woman  who  kicked  up 
her  legs  in  the  middle  of  a  quadrille.  We  ourselves 
spent  more  than  two  thousand  thalers  a  year  for  our 
wicked  scapegrace.  His  death  is  a  great  saving,  and 
therefore  a  good  thing  !  " 

As  long  as  the  three  coffins  of  Fougas  were  in 


184  THE   MAN  WITH 

the  house,  the  good  dame  scolded  at  the  visions  and 
restlessness  of  her  husband.     "  What  in  the  name  of 
sense  are  you  thinking  about  ?  You've  been  kicking 
me  all  night  again.     Let's  throw  this  ragamuffin  of  a 
Frenchman  into  the  fire  ;  then  he'll  no  longer  disturb 
the  repose  of  a  peaceable  family.     We  can  sell  the 
leaden  box ;    it   must  weigh   at   least  two  hundred 
pounds.     The  white  silk  will  make  me  a  good  lining 
for  a  dress  ;  and  the  wool  in  the  stuffing,  will  easily 
make  us  a  mattress."     But  a  tinge  of   superstition 
prevented  Meiser  from  following  his  wife's  advice  ; 
he  preferred  to  rid  himself  of  the  Colonel  by  selling 
him. 

The  house  of  this  worthy  couple  was  the  hand- 
somest and  most  substantial  on  the  street  of  Public 
Wells,  in  the  aristocratic  part  of  the  city.  Strong  rail- 
ings, in  iron  open  work,  decorated  all  the  windows 
magnificently,  and  the  door  was  sheathed  in  iron,  like 
a  knight  of  the  olden  time.  A  system  of  little  mirrors, 
ingeniously  arranged  in  the  entrance,  enabled  a  visitor 
to  be  seen  before  he  had  even  knocked.  A  single 
servant,  a  regular  horse  for  work  and  camel  for  tem- 
perance, ministered  under  this  roof  blessed  by  the 
gods. 

The  old  servant  slept  away  from  the  house,  both 
because  he  preferred  to  and  because  while  he  did  so 
he  could  not  be  tempted  to  wring  the  venerable  necks 
of  his  employers.  A  few  books  on  Commerce  and 
Religion  constituted  the  library  of  the  two  old  people. 
They  never  cared  to  have  a  garden  at  the  back  of 


THE   BROKEN   EAK.  185 

their  hoase,  because  the  shrubbery  might  conceal 
thieves.  They  fastened  their  door  with  bolts  even) 
evening  at  eight  o'clock,  and  never  went  out  without 
being  obliged  to,  for  fear  of  meeting  dangerous  people. 

And  nevertheless,  on  the  29th  of  April,  1859,  at 
eleven  o'clock  in  the  morning,  Nicholas  Meiser  was 
far  away  from  his  beloved  home.  Gracious !  how  very 
far  away  for  him — this  honest  burgher  of  Dantzic  ! 
He  was  traversing,  with  heavy  tread,  the  promenade 
in  Berlin,  which  bears  the  name  of  one  of  Alphonse 
Karrs'  romances :  Sous  les  tilleuls.  In  German : 
Unter  den  Linden. 

What  mighty  agency  had  thrown  out  of  his  bon- 
bon box,  this  big  red  bon-bon  on  two  legs  ?  The 
same  that  led  Alexander  to  Babylon,  Scipio  to  Car- 
tilage, Godfrey  de  Bouillon  to  Jerusalem,  and  Napo- 
leon to  Moscow — Ambition  !  Meiser  did  not  expect 
to  be  presented  with  the  keys  of  the  city  on  a  cushion 
of  red  velvet,  but  he  knew  a  great  lord,  a  clerk  in  a 
goveimment  office,  and  a  chambermaid  who  were  work- 
iug  to  get  a  patent  of  nobility  for  him.  To  call  him- 
self Von  Meiser  instead  of  plain  Meiser !  What  a 
glorious  dream ! 

This  good  man  had  in  his  character  that  com- 
pound of  meanness  and  vanity  which  places  lacqueys 
so  far  apart  from  the  rest  of  mankind.  Full  of  respect 
for  power,  and  admiration  for  conventional  greatness, 
he  never  pronounced  the  name  of  king,  prince,  or 
even  baron,  without  emphasis  and  unction.  He 
mouthed  every  aristocratic  syllable,  and  the  single 


186  THE    MAN    WITH 

word  "  Monseigneur  "  seemed  to  him  like  a  mouthful 
of  well-spiced  soup.  Examples  of  this  disposition 
are  not  rare  in  Germany,  and  are  even  occasionally 
found  elsewhere.  If  they  could  be  transported  to  a 
country  where  all  men  are  equal,  homesickness  for 
boot-licking  would  kill  them. 

The  claims  brought  to  bear  in  favor  of  Nicholas 
Meiser,  were  not  of  the  kind  which  at  once  spring 
the  balance,  but  of  the  kind  which  make  it  turn  little 
by  little.  Nephew  of  an  illustrious  man  of  science, 
powerfully  rich,  a  man  of  sound  judgment,  a  sub- 
scriber to  the  New  Gazette  of  the  Cross,  full  of 
hatred  for  the  opposition,  author  of  a  toast  against 
the  influence  of  demagogues,  once  a  member  of  the 
City  Council,  once  an  umpire  in  the  Chamber  of 
Commerce,  once  a  corporal  in  the  militia,  and  an  open 
enemy  of  Poland  and  all  nations  but  the  strong  ones. 
His  most  brilliant  action  dated  back  ten  years.  He 
had  denounced,  by  an  anonymous  letter,  a  member 
of  the  French  Parliament  who  had  taken  refuge  in 
Dantzic.  While  Meiser  was  walking  under  the  lin- 
dens, his  cause  was  progressing  swimmingly.  He 
had  received  that  sweet  assurance  from  the  very  lips 
of  its  promoters.  -And  so  he  tripped  lightly  toward 
the  depot  of  the  North-Eastern  Railroad,  without  any 
other  baggage  than  a  revolver  in  his  pocket.  His 
black  leather  trunk  had  gone  before,  and  was  waiting 
for  him  at  the  station.  On  the  way,  he  was  glancing 
into  the  shop  windows,  when  he  stopped  short  before 
a  stationer's,  and  rubbed  his  eyes — a  sovereign  remedy, 


THE    15K0KEN    EAR.  187 

people  say,  for  impaired  vision.  Between  the  portraits 
of  Mine.  Sand  and  M.  Merimee,  the  two  greatest 
-writers  of  France,  he  had  noticed,  examined,  recog- 
nized a  well-known  countenance. 

"  Surely,"  said  he,  "  I've  seen  that  man  before, 
but  he  was  paler.  Can  our  old  lodger  have  come  to 
life  ?  Impossible  !  I  burned  up  my  uncle's  direc- 
tions, so  the  world  has  lost — thanks  to  me — the  secret 
of  resuscitating  people.  Nevertheless,  the  resem- 
blance is  striking.  Is  it  a  portrait  of  Colonel  Fougas, 
taken  from  life  in  1813  ?  No  ;  for  photography  was 
not  then  invented.  But  possibly  it's  a  photograph 
copied  from  an  engraving  ?  Here  are  Louis  XVT. 
and  Marie  Antoinette  reproduced  in  the  same  way : 
that  doesn't  prove  that  Robespierre  had  them  re- 
suscitated. Anyhow,  I've  had  an  unfortunate  en- 
counter." 

He  took  a  step  toward  the  door  of  the  shop  to 
reassure  himself,  but  a  peculiar  reluctance  held  him 
back.  People  might  wonder  at  him,  ask  him  ques- 
tions, try  to  learn  the  reason  of  his  trouble.  He 
resumed  his  walk  at  a  brisk  pace,  trying  to  reassure 
himself. 

"  Bah  !  It's  an  hallucination — the  result  of  dwell- 
ing too  much  on  one  idea.  Moreover,  the  portrait  was 
dressed  in  the  style  of  1813;  that  settles  the  ques- 
tion." 

He  reached  the  station,  had  his  black  leather 
trunk  checked,  and  flung  himself  down  at  full  length 
in  a  first-class  compartment.     First  he  smoked  his 


188  THE    MAN    WITH 

porcelain  pipe,  but  his  two  neighbors  being  asleep, 
he  soon  followed  their  example,  and  began  snoring. 
Now  this  big  man's  snores  had  something  awe-inspir- 
ing about  them  ;  you  could  have  fancied  yourself 
listening  to  the  trumpets  of  the  judgment  day.  What 
shade  visited  him  in  this  hour  of  sleep,  no  other  soul 
has  ever  known  ;  for  he  kept  his  dreams  to  himself, 
as  he  did  everything  that  was  his. 

But  between  two  stations,  while  the  train  was 
running  at  full  speed,  he  distinctly  felt  two  powerful 
hands  pulling  at  his  feet — a  sensation,  alas  !  too  well 
known,  and  one  wdiich  called  up  the  ugliest  recollec- 
tions of  his  life.  He  opened  his  eyes  in  terror,  and 
saw  the  man  of  the  photograph,  in  the  costume  of 
the  photograph.  His  hair  stood  on  end,  his  eyes  grew 
as  big  as  saucers,  he  uttered  a  loud  cry,  and  flung 
himself  headlong  between  the  seats  among  the  legs 
of  his  neighbors. 

A  few  vigorous  kicks  brought  him  to  himself.  He 
got  up  as  well  as  he  could,  and  looked  about  him. 
No  one  was  there  but  the  two  gentlemen  opposite, 
who  were  mechanically  lanching  their  last  kicks  into 
the  empty  space,  and  rubbing  their  eyes  with  their 
arms.  He  succeeded  in  awakening  them,  and  asked 
them  about  the  visitation  he  had  had  ;  but  the  gen- 
tlemen declared  they  had  seen  nothing. 

Meiser  sadly  returned  to  his  own  thoughts  ;  he 
noticed  that  the  visions  appeared  terribly  real.  This 
idea  prevented  his  going  to  sleep  again. 

"  If  this  goes  on  much  longer,"  thought  he,  "  the 


THE    BROKEN   EAR.  1S9 

Colonel's  ghost  will  break  my  nose  with  a  blow  of 
his  fist,  or  give  me  a  pair  of  black  eyes  !  " 

A  little  later,  it  occurred  to  him  that  he  had 
breakfasted  very  hastily  that  morning,  and  he  re- 
flected that  the  nightmare  had  perhaps  been  brought 
about  by  such  dieting. 

He  got  off  at  the  next  five-minute  stopping-place 
and  called  for  soup.  Some  very  hot  vermicelli  was 
brought  him,  and  he  blew  into  his  bowl  like  a  dolphin 
into  the  Bosphorus. 

A  man  passed  before  him,  without  jostling  him, 
without  saying  anything  to  him,  without  even  seeing 
him.  And  nevertheless,  the  bowl  dropped  from  the 
hands  of  the  rich  Nicholas  Meiser,  the  vermicelli 
poured  over  his  waistcoat  and  shirt-bosom,  where  it 
formed  an  elegant  fretwork  suggestive  of  the  archi- 
tecture of  the  porte  Saint  Martin.  Some  yelloAvish 
threads,  detached  from  the  mass,  hung  in  stalactites 
from  the  buttons  of  his  coat.  The  vermicelli  stopped 
on  the  outside,  but  the  sotip  penetrated  much  further. 
It  was  rather  warm  for  pleasure ;  an  egg  left  in  it 
ten  minutes  would  have  been  boiled  hard.  Fatal 
soup,  which  not  only  distributed  itself  among  the 
pockets,  but  into  the  most  secret  sinuosities  of  the 
man  himself!  The  starting  bell  rang,  the  waiter 
collected  his  two  sous,  and  Meiser  got  into  the  cars, 
preceded  by  a  plaster  of  vermicelli,  and  followed  by  a 
little  thread  of  soup  which  was  running  down  the 
calves  of  his  legs. 

And  all  of  this,  because  he  had  seen,  or  thought 


190  THE    MAN    WITH 

he  Lad  seen,  the  terrible  figure  of  Colonel  Fougas 
eating  sandwiches. 

Oh  !  how  long  the  trip  seemed  !  What  a  terrible 
time  it  appeared  to  be  before  he  could  be  at  home, 
between  his  wife  Catharine  and  his  servant  Berbel, 
with  all  the  doors  safely  closed !  His  two  compan- 
ions laughed  till  the  buttons  flew  ;  people  laughed  in 
the  compartment  to  the  right  of  him,  and  in  the  com- 
partment to  the  left  of  him.  As  fast  as  he  picked  off 
the  vermicelli,  little  spots  of  soup  saucily  congealed 
and  seemed  quietly  laughing.  How  hard  it  comes  to 
a  great  millionnaire  to  amuse  people  who  do  not  pos- 
sess a  cent !  He  did  not  get  off  again  until  they 
reached  Dantzic  ;  he  did  not  even  put  his  nose  to  the 
window ;  he  sucked  solitary  consolation  from  his 
porcelain  pipe,  on  which  Leda  caressed  her  swan 
and  smiled  not. 

Wearisome,  wearisome  journey !  But  he  did 
reach  home  nevertheless.  It  was  eight  o'clock  in  the 
evening ;  the  old  domestic  was  waiting  with  ropes 
to  slins;  his  master's  trunk  on  his  back.  No  more 
alarming  figures,  no  more  mocking  laughs !  The 
history  of  the  soup  was  fallen  into  the  great  for- 
gotten, like  one  of  M.  Heller's  speeches.  In  the  bag- 
gage room,  Meiser  had  already  seized  the  handle  of  a 
black  leather  trunk,  when,  at  the  other  end,  he  saw 
the  spectre  of  Fougas,  which  was  pulling  in  the 
opposite  direction,  and  seemed  inclined  to  dispute 
possession.  He  bristled  up,  pulled  stronger,  and  even 
plunged    his  left  hand    into  the  pocket  where  the 


THE    BROKEN    EAE.  191 

revolver  was  lying.  But  the  luminous  glance  of  the 
Colonel  fascinated  hiui,  his  legs  trembled,  he  fell,  and 
fancied  that  he  saw  Foug-as  and  the  black  trunk  roll 
ing  over  each  other.  When  he  came  to,  his  old 
servant  was  chafing  his  hands,  the  trunk  already  had 
the  slings  around  it,  and  the  Colonel  had  disappeared. 
The  domestic  swore  that  he  had  not  seen  anybody, 
and  that  he  had  himself  received  the  trunk  from  the 
baggage  agent's  own  hand. 

Twenty  minutes  later,  the  millionnaire  was  in  his 
own  house,  joyfully  rubbing  his  face  against  the  sharp 
angles  of  his  wife.  He  did  not  dare  to  tell  her  about 
his  visions,  for  Frau  Meiser  was  a  skeptic,  in  her  own 
way.     It  was  she  who  spoke  to  him  about  Fougas. 

"  A  whole  history  has  happened  to  me,"  said  she. 
"  Would  you  believe  that  the  police  have  written  to 
us  from  Berlin,  to  find  out  whether  our  uncle  left  us 
a  mummy,  and  when,  and  how  long  we  kept  him,  and 
what  we  have  done  with  him  ?  I  answered,  telling 
the  truth,  and  adding  that  Colonel  Fougas  was  in 
such  a  bad  condition,  and  so  damaged  by  mites,  that 
we  sold  him  for  rags.  What  object  can  the  police 
have  in  troubling  themselves  about  our  affairs  ?  " 

Meiser  heaved  a  heavy  sigh. 

"  Let's  talk  about  money  !  "  said  the  lady.  "  The 
president  of  the  bank  has  been  to  see  me.  The 
million  you  asked  him  for,  for  to-morrow,  is  ready  ;  it 
will  be  delivered  upon  your  signature.  It  seems  that 
they've  had  a  deal  of  trouble  to  get  the  amount  in 
specie.     If  you  had  but  wanted  drafts  on  Vienna  or 


182  THE    MAJST    WITH 

Paris,  you  would  have  put  them  at  their  ease.  But 
at  last  they've  done  what  you  wanted.  There's  no 
other  news,  except  that  Schmidt,  the  merchant,  has 
killed  himself.  He  had  to  pay  a  note  for  ten  thousand 
thalers,  and  didn't  have  half  the  amouut  on  hand.  He 
came  to  ask  me  for  the  money  ;  I  offered  him  ten 
thousand  thalers,  at  twenty-five  per  cent.,  payable  in 
ninety  days,  with  a  first  mortgage  on  all  his  real 
estate.  The  fool  preferred  to  hang  himself  in  his 
shop.     Everyone  to  his  taste  !  " 

"  Did  he  hang  himself  very  high  ?  " 
"  I  don't  know  anvthing  about  that.     Whv  ?  " 
"  Because  one  might  get  a  piece  of  rope  cheap, 
and  we're  greatly  in  want  of  some,  my  poor  Catha- 
rine !     That  Colonel  Fougas  has  given  me  a  shiver." 
"  Some  more  of  your  notions  !     Come  to  supper, 
my  love." 
"  "  Come  on  !  " 
The  angular  Baucis  conducted  her  Philemon  into 
a  large  and    beautiful    dining-room,  where   Berbel 
served  a  repast  worthy  of  the  gods.     Soup  with  little 
balls  of  aniseeded  bread,  fish-balls  with  black  sauce, 
mutton-balls  stuffed,  game  balls,  sour-krout  cooked  in 
lard  and  garnished   with   fried   potatoes,  roast  hare 
with  currant  jelly,  deviled  crabs,  salmon  from   the 
Vistula,  jellies,  and  fruit  tarts.     Six  bottles  of  Rhine- 
wine  selected  from  the  best  vintages  were  awaiting, 
in  their  silver  caps,  the  master's  kiss.     But  the  lord 
of  all   these  good   things  was   neither  hungry   nor 
thirsty.     He  ate  by  nibbles  and  drank  by  sips,  all  the 


THE    BROKEN    EAR.  103 

time  expecting  a  grand  consummation,  which  he  did 
not  have  to  expect  along.  A  formidable  rap  of  the 
knocker  soon  resounded  through  the  house. 

Nicholas  Meiser  trembled.  His  wife  tried  to 
reassure  him.  "  It's  nothing,"  said  she.  "  The  presi- 
dent of  the  bank  told  me  that  he  was  coming  to  see 
you.  He  offers  to  pay  us  the  exchange,  if  we'll  take 
paper  instead  of  specie." 

"  It  is  about  money,  sure  as  Fate  !  "  cried  the 
good  man.     "  Hell  itself  is  coming  to  see  us  !  " 

At  the  same  instant,  the  servant  rushed  into  the 
room,  crying,  "  Oh,  Sir  !  Oh,  Madame  !  It's  the 
Frenchman  of  the  three  coffins !  Jesus !  Mary, 
Mother  of  God  !  " 

Fougas  saluted  them,  and  said,  "  Don't  disturb 
yourselves,  good  people,  I  beg  of  you.  We've  a  little 
matter  to  discuss  together,  and  I'm  ready  to  explain 
it  to  you  in  two  words.  You're  in  a  hurry,  so  am  I ; 
you've  not  had  supper,  neither  have  I !  " 

Frau  Meiser,  more  rigid  and  more  emaciated  than 
a  thirteenth-centnry  statue,  opened  wide  her  toothless 
mouth.  Terror  paralyzed  her.  The  man,  better  pre- 
pared for  the  visit  of  the  phantom,  cocked  his  re- 
volver under  the  table  and  took  aim  at  the  Colonel, 
crying  "  Vade  retro,  Satanas  I  "  The  exorcism  and 
the  pistol  missed  fire  together. 

Meiser  was  not  at  all  discouraged :  he  snapped  the 
six  barrels  one  after  the  other  at  the  demon,  who 
stood  watching  him  do  it.     Not  one  went  off. 

"  What  devilish  game  is  that  you're  playing '?  " 
9 


194  THE    MAN   WITH 

said  the  Colonel,  seating  himself  astride  a  chair. 
"  People  are  not  in  the  habit  of  receiving  an  honest 
man's  visit  with  that  ceremony  !  " 

Meiser  flung  down  his  revolver,  and  grovelled  like 
a  beast  at  Fougas'  feet.  His  wife,  who  was  not  one 
whit  more  tranquil,  'followed  him.  They  joined  hands, 
and  the  fat  man  exclaimed  : 

"  Spirit  !  I  confess  my  misdeeds,  and  I  am 
ready  to  make  reparation  for  them.  1  have  sinned 
against  you ;  I  have  violated  my  uncle's  commands. 
What  do  you  wish?  What  do  you  command?  A 
tomb?  A  magnificent  monument?  Prayers?  End- 
less prayers  ?  " 

"  Idiot !  "  said  Fougas,  spurning  him  with  his 
foot ;  "  I  am  no  spirit,  and  I  want  nothing  but  the 
money  you've  robbed  me  of!  " 

Meiser  kept  rolling  on  the  floor  ;  but  his  scrawny 
wife  was  already  on  her  feet,  her  fists  on  her  hips, 
and  facing  Fougas. 

"  Money !  "  cried  she,  "  But  we  don't  owe  you 
any  !  Have  you  any  documents  ?  Just  show  us  our 
signature  !  Where  would  one  be,  Just  God  !  if  we 
had  to  give  money  to  all  the  adventurers  who  present 
themselves  ?  And  in  the  first  place,  by  what  right 
did  you  thrust  yourself  into  our  dwelling,  if  you're 
not  a  spirit  ?  Ah !  you're  a  man  just  the  same  as  other 
people  !  Ha !  ha  !  So  you're  not  a  ghost !  Very 
well,  sir ;  there  are  judges  in  Berlin  ;  there  are  some 
in  the  country,  too,  and  we'll  soon  see  whether  you're 
going  to  finger  our  money  !     Get  up  there,  you  great 


THE    BROKEX    EAR.  195 

booby  ;  it's  only  a  man  !  And  do  you,  Mister  Ghost, 
get  out  of  here  !     Off  with  you  !  " 

The   Colonel  did  not  "budge  more  than  a  rock. 

"  The  devil's  in  women's  tongues  '.  Sit  down,  old 
lad},  and  take  your  hands  away  from  my  eyes — they 
bother  me.  And  as  for  you,  swell-head,  get  on  to 
your  chair,  and  listen  to  me.  There  will  be  time 
enough  to  go  to  law  if  we  can't  come  to  an  under- 
standing.  But  stamped  paper  stinks  in  my  nostrils  ; 
and  therefore  I'd  rather  settle  peaceably." 

Herr  and  Frau  Meiser  repressed  their  first  emo- 
tion. They  distrusted  magistrates,  as  do  all  people 
without  clean  consciences.  If  the  Colonel  was  a  poor 
devil  who  could  be  put  off  with  a  few  thalers,  it 
would  be  better  to  avoid  legal  proceedings. 

Fousras  stated  the  case  to  them  with  entire  mili- 
tary  bluntness.  He  proved  the  existence  of  his  right, 
said  that  he  had  had  his  identity  substantiated  at 
Fontainebleau,  Pai'is,  and  Berlin  ;  cited  from  memory 
two  or  three  passages  of  the  will,  and  finished  by 
declaring  that  the  Prussian  Government,  in  conjunc- 
tion with  that  of  France,  would  support  his  just 
claims  if  necessary. 

"  You  understand  clearly,"  said  he,  taking  Meiser 
by  the  button  of  his  coat,  "  that  I  am  no  fox,  depend- 
ing on  cunning.  If  you  had  a  wrist  vigorous  enough 
to  swing  a  good  sabre,  we'd  take  the  field  against 
each  other,  and  I'd  play  you  for  the  amount,  first  two 
cuts  out  of  three,  as  surely  as  that's  soup  before  you ! " 

"  Fortunately,  monsieur,"  said  Meiser,  "  my  age 


196  THE    MAN    WITH 

shields  me  from  all  brutality.  You  would  not  wish 
to  trample  under  foot  the  corpse  of  an  old  man !  " 

"  Venerable  scoundrel !  But  you  would  have 
killed  me  like  a  dog,  if  your  pistol  had  not  missed 
fire !  " 

"  It  was  not  loaded,  Monsieur  Colonel !  It  was 
not anywhere  near  loaded  !  But  I  am  an  accom- 
modating man,  and  we  can  come  to  terms  very  easily. 
I  don't  owe  you  anything,  and,  moreover,  there's  pre- 
scription ;  but  after  all how  much  do  you  want  ?  " 

"  He  has  had  his  say :  now  it's  my  turn  !  " 

The  old  rascal's  mate  softened  the  tone  of  her 
voice.  Imagine  to  yourself  a  saw  licking  a  tree 
before  biting  in. 

"  Listen,  Clans,  my  dear — listen  to  what  Monsieur 
Colonel  Fougas  has  to  say.  You'll  see  that  he  is 
reasonable  !  It's  not  in  him  to  think  of  ruining  poor 
people  like  us.  Oh,  Heavens !  he  is  not  capable  of 
it.  He  has  such  a  noble  heart !  Such  a  disinterested 
man  !  An  officer  worthy  of  the  great  Napoleon  (God 
receive  his  soul !)." 

"  That's  enough,  old  lady  !  "  said  Fougas,  with  a 
curt  gesture  which  cut  the  speech  off  in  the  middle. 
"  I  had  an  estimate  made  at  Berlin  of  what  is  due  me 
— principal  and  interest." 

"Interest!"  cried  Meiser.  "But  in  what  coun- 
try, in  what  latitude,  do  people  pay  interest  on 
money  ?  Perhaps  it  may  sometimes  happen  in  busi- 
ness, but  between  friends — never,  no  never,  my  good 
Monsieur  Colonel !      What  would  my  good   uncle, 


THE    BROKEN    EA.R.  197 

who  is  now  gazing  upon  us  from  heaven,  say,  if  he  knew 
that  you  were  claiming  interest  on  his  bequest  ?  " 

"  Now  shut  up,  Nickle !  "  interrupted  his  wife. 
"  Monsieur  Colonel  is  just  about  telling  you,  himself, 
that  lie  did  not  intend  to  be  understood  as  speaking 
of  the  interest." 

"  Why  in  the  name  of  great  guns  don't  you  both 
slmt  up,  you  confounded  magpies  ?  Here  I  am  dying 
of  hunger,  and  I  didn't  bring  my  nightcap  to  go  to 

bed  here,  either  ! Now  here's  the  upshot  of  the 

matter :  You  owe  me  a  great  deal ;  but  it's  not  an 
even  sum — there  are  fractions  in  it,  and  I  go  in  for 
clean  transactions.  Moreover,  my  tastes  are  modest. 
I've  enough  for  my  wife  and  myself;  nothing  more  is 
needed  than  to  provide  for  my  son  !  " 

"  Very  well,"  cried  Meiser  ;  "  I'll  charge  myself 
with  the  education  of  the  little  fellow  !  " 

"  Now,  during  the  dozen  days  since  I  again  be- 
came a  citizen  of  the  world,  there  is  one  word  that 
I've  heard  spoken  everywhere.  At  Paris,  as  well  as 
at  Berlin,  people  no  longer  speak  of  anything  but 
millions  ;  there  is  no  longer  any  talk  of  anything  else, 
and  everybody's  month  is  full  of  millions.  From 
hearing  so  much  said  about  it,  I've  acquired  a  curi- 
osity to  know  what  it  is.  Go,  fetch  me  out  a  mil- 
lion, and  I'll  give  you  quittance  !  " 

If  you  want  to  reach  an  approximate  idea  of  the 
piercing  cries  which  answered  him,  go  to  the  Jardin 
des  Plantes  at  the  breakfast  hour  of  the  birds  of  prey, 
and  try  to  pull  the  meat  out  of  their  beaks.     Fougaa 


198  THE    MAN    "WITH 

stopped  his  ears  and  remained  inexorable.  Prayers, 
arguments,  misrepresentations,  flatteries,  cringings, 
glanced  off  from  him  like  rain  from  a  zinc  roof.  But 
at  ten  o'clock  at  night,  when  he  had  concluded  that 
all  concurrence  was  impossible,  he  took  his  hat : 

"  Good  evening !  "  said  he.  "  It's  no  longer  a  mil- 
lion that  I  must  haATe,  but  two  millions,  and  all  over. 
We'll  go  to  law.     I'm  going  to  supper." 

He  was  on  the  staircase,  when  Frau  Meiser  said 
to  her  husband  : 

"  Call  him  back,  and  give  him  his  million  !  " 

"  Are  you  a  fool  ?  " 

"  Don't  be  afraid." 

"  I  can  never  do  it !  " 

"  Father  in  heaven  !  what  blockheads  men  are ! 
Monsieur  !  Monsieur  Fougas  !  Monsieur  Colonel 
Fougas  !  Come  up  again,  I  pray  you !  We  consent 
to  all  that  you  require  !  " 

"  Damnation  !  "  said  he,  on  reentering  ;  "  you 
ought  to  have  made  up  your  minds  sooner.  But 
after  all,  let's  see  the  money  !  " 

Frau  Meiser  explained  to  him  with  her  tenderest 
voice,  that  poor  capitalists  like  themselves,  were  not 
in  the  habit  of  keeping  millions  under  their  own  lock 
and  key. 

"  But  you  shall  lose  nothing  by  waiting,  my  sweet 
sir  !  To-morrow  you  shall  handle  the  amount  in  nice 
white  silver  ;  my  husband  will  sign  you  a  check  on 
the  Royal  Bank  of  Dantzic." 

"  But ,"   said  the   unfortunate  Meiser.      He 


THE    BKOKEX    EAR.  199 

signed,  nevertheless,  for  he  had  boundless  confidence 
in  the  practical  ingenuity  of  Catharine.  The  old  lady 
begged  Fougas  to  sit  down  at  the  end  of  the  table, 
aud  dictated  to  him  a  receipt  for  two  millions,  in 
payment  of  all  demands.  You  may  depend  that  she 
did  not  forget  a  word  of  the  legal  formulas,  and  that 
she  arranged  the  affair  in  due  form  according  to  the 
Prussian  code.  The  receipt,  written  throughout  in 
the  Colonel's  hand,  filled  three  large  pages. 

He  signed  the  instrument  with  a  flourish,  and 
received  in  exchange  the  signature  of  Nicholas,  which 
he  knew  well. 

"  Well,"  said  he  to  the  old  gentleman,  "  you're 
certainly  not  such  an  Arab  as  they  said  you  were  at 
Berlin.  Shake  hands,  old  scamp  !  I  don't  usually 
shake  hands  with  any  but  honest  people  ;  but  on  an 
occasion  like  this,  one  can  do  a  little  something  extra." 

"  Do  it  double,  Monsieur  Fougas,"  said  Frau 
Meiser,  humbly.  "  Will  you  not  join  us  in  this 
modest  supper  ?  " 

"Gad!  old  lady,  it's  not  a  thing  to  be  refused.  My 
supper  must  be  cold  at  the  inn  of  the  '  Clock  ' ;  and 
your  viands,  smoking  on  their  chafing  dishes,  have 
already  caused  me  more  than  one  fit  of  distrac- 
tion. Besides,  here  are  some  yellow  glass  flutes, 
on  which  Fougas  will  not  be  at  all  reluctant  to  play 
an  air." 

The  respectable  Catharine  had  an  extra  plate  laid, 
and  ordered  Berbel  to  go  to  bed.  The  Colonel  folded 
up  Father  Meiser's  million,  rolled  it  carefully  among 


200  THE   MAN   WITH 

a  pile  of  bank-bills,  and  put  the  whole  into  the  little 
pocket-book  which  his  dear  Clementine  had  sent  him. 

The  clock  struck  eleven. 

At  half-past  eleven  Fougas  began  to  see  every- 
thing in  a  rosy  cloud.  He  praised  the  Rhine  wine 
highly,  and  thanked  the  Meisers  for  their  hospitality. 
At  midnight,  he  assured  them  of  his  highest  esteem. 
At  quarter  past  twelve,  he  embraced  them.  At  half- 
past  twelve,  he  delivered  a  eulogy  on  the  illustrious 
John  Meiser,  his  friend  and  benefactor.  When  he 
learned  that  John  Meiser  had  died  in  that  house,  he 
poured  forth  a  torrent  of  tears.  At  quarter  to  one, 
he  assumed  a  confidential  tone,  and  spoke  of  his  son, 
whom  he  was  going  to  make  happy,  and  of  the  be- 
trothed who  was  waiting  for  him.  About  one  o'clock, 
he  tasted  a  celebrated  port  wine  which  Frau  Meiser 
had  herself  gone  to  bring  from  the  cellar.  About 
half-past  one,  his  tongue  thickened  and  his  eyes  grew 
dim  ;  he  struggled  some  time  against  drunkenness  and 
sleepiness,  announced  that  he  was  going  to  describe 
the  Russian  campaign,  muttered  the  name  of  the 
Emperor,  and  slid  under  the  table. 

"  Y"ou  may  believe  me,  if  you  will,"  said  Fran 
Meiser  to  her  husband,  "  this  is  not  a  man  who  has 
come  into  our  house  ;  it's  the  devil !  " 

"  The  devil !  " 

"  If  not,  would  I  have  advised  you  to  give  him  a 
million  ?  I  heard  a  voice  saying  to  me,  '  If  you  do 
not  obey  the  messenger  of  the  Infernal  powers,  you 
will  both  die  this  very  night.'     It  was  on  account  of 


THE    BROKEN   EAE.  201 

that,  that  I  called  him  up  stairs.  Ah  !  if  we  had  been 
doing  business  with  a  man,  I  would  have  told  you  to 
contest  it  in  law  to  our  last  cent." 

"  As  you  please  !  So  you're  still  making  sport  of 
my  visions  ?  " 

"  Forgive  me,  Claus  dear  ;  I  was  a  fool !  " 

"  And  I've  concluded  I  was,  too." 

"  Poor  innocent !  Perhaps  you  too  thought  this 
was  Colonel  Fougas  ?  " 

"  Certainly !  " 

"  As  if  it  were  possible  to  resuscitate  a  man  !  It 
is  a  demon,  I  tell  you,  who  assumed  the  shape  of  the 
Colonel,  to  rob  us  of  our  money  !  " 

"  What  can  demons  do  with  money  ?  " 

"  Build  cathedrals,  to  be  sure  !  " 

"  But  how  is  the  devil  to  be  recognized  when  he 
is  disguised  ?  " 

"  First  by  his  cloven-foot — but  this  one  has  boots 
on  ;  next  by  his  clipped  ear." 

"  Bah  !  "  And  why ?  " 

"  Because  the  devil's  ears  are  pointed,  and,  in 
order  to  make  them  round,  he  has  to  cut  them." 

Meiser  stuck  his  head  under  the  table  and  uttered 
a  cry  of  horror. 

"  It's  certainly  the  devil !  "  said  he.  "  But  how 
did  he  happen  to  let  himself  go  to  sleep  ?  " 

"  Perhaps  you  did  not  know  that  when  I  came 
back  from  the  cellar,  I  dropped  into  my  chamber  ?     I 
put   a   drop   of  holy   water   into   the  Port ;    charm 
against  charm,  and  he  is  fallen." 
9* 


202  THE    MAN    WITII 

"  That's  splendid !  But  what  shall  we  do  with 
him,  now  that  we  have  him  in  our  power  ?  " 

"  What  is  done  with  demons  in  Scripture  ?  The 
Saviour  throws  them  into  the  sea." 

"  The  sea  is  a  long  way  from  here." 

"  But,  you  big  baby,  the  public  wells  are  just 
by !  " 

"  And  what  will  be  said  to-morrow,  when  the 
body  is  found  ?  " 

"  Nothing  at  all  will  be  found ;  and  even  the 
check  that  we  signed,  will  be  turned  into  tinder." 

Ten  minutes  later,  Herr  and  Frau  Meiser  were 
lugging  something  toward  the  public  wells,  and  soon 
dame  Catharine  murmured,  sotto  voce,  the  following 
incantation  : 

"  Demon,  child  of  hell,  be  thou  accursed  ! 

"  Demon,  child  of  hell,  be  thou  dashed  headlong 
down  ! 

"  Demon,  child  of  hell,  return  to  hell !  " 

A  dull  sound — the  sound  of  a  body  falling  into 
Avater,  terminated  the  ceremony,  and  the  two  spouses 
retmmed  to  their  domicil,  with  the  satisfaction  that 
always  follows  the  performance  of  a  duty. 

Nicholas  said  to  himself: 

"  I  didn't  think  she  was  so  credulous  !  " 

"  I  didn't  think  he  was  so  simple  !  "  thought  the 
worthy  Kettle,  wedded  wife  of  Claus. 

They  slept  the  sleep  of  innocence.  Oh,  how  much 
less  soft  their  pillows  would  have  seemed,  if  Fougas 
had  gone  home  with  his  million  ! 


THE    BKOKEN    EAR.  203 

At  ten  o'clock  the  next  morning,  while  they  were 
taking  their  coffee  and  buttered  rolls,  the  president 
of  the  bank  called  in,  and  said  to  them  : 

"  I  am  greatly  obliged  to  you  for  having  accepted 
a  draft  on  Paris  instead  of  a  million  in  specie,  and 
without  premium,  too.  That  young  Frenchman  you 
sent  to  us  is  a  little  brusque,  but  very  lively,  and  a 
good  fellow." 


CHAPTER  XVm. 

THE  COLONEL  TRIES  TO  RELIEVE  HIMSELF  OP  A  MILLION 
WHICH  INCUMBERS  HIM. 

Fougas  had  left  Paris  for  Berlin  the  day  after  his 
audience.  He  took  three  days  to  make  the  trip, 
because  he  stopped  some  time  at  Nancy.  The 
Marshal  had  given  him  a  letter  of  introduction  to  the 
Prefect  of  Meurthe,  who  received  him  very  politely, 
and  promised  to  aid  him  in  his  investigations.  Un- 
fortunately, the  house  where  he  had  loved  Clementine 
Pichon  was  no  longer  standing.  The  authorities  had 
demolished  it  in  1827,  in  cutting  a  street  through.  It 
is  certain  that  the  commissioners  had  not  demolished 
the  family  with  the  house,  but  a  new  difficulty  all  at 
once  presented  itself:  the  name  of  Pichon  abounded 
in  the  city,  the  suburbs,  and  the  department.  Among 
this  multitude  of  Pichons,  Fougas  did  not  know  which 
one  to  hug.  Tired  of  hunting,  and  eager  to  hasten 
forward  on  the  road  to  fortune,  he  left  this  note  for 
the  commissioner  of  police: 

"  Search,  on  the  registers  of  personal  statistics 
and  elsewhere,  for  a  young  girl  named  Clementine 


THE   MAN    WITH    THE    BROKEN    EAR.  205 

Pichon.  She  was  eighteen  years  old  in  1813  ;  her 
parents  kept  an  officers'  hoarding-house.  If  she  is 
alive,  get  her  address  ;  if  she  is  dead,  look  up  her 
heirs.     A  father's  happiness  depends  upon  it !  " 

On  reaching  Berlin,  the  Colonel  found  that  his 
reputation  had  preceded  him.  The  note  from  the 
Minister  of  "War  had  been  sent  to  the  Prussian  Gov- 
ernment through  the  French  legation  ;  Leon  Renault, 
despite  his  grief,  had  found  time  to  write  a  word  to 
Doctor  Hirtz  ;  the  papers  had  begun  to  talk,  and  the 
scientific  societies  to  bestir  themselves.  The  Prince 
Regent,  even,  had  not  disdained  to  ask  information 
on  the  subject  from  his  physician.  Germany  is  a 
queer  country,  where  science  interests  the  very 
princes. 

Fougas,  who  had  read  Doctor  Hirtz's  letter  an- 
nexed to  Herr  Meiser's  will,  thought  that  he  owed 
some  acknowledgments  to  that  excellent  gentleman. 
He  made  a  call  upon  him,  and  embraced  him,  address- 
ing him  as  the  oracle  of  Epidaurus.  The  doctor  at 
once  took  possession  of  him,  had  his  baggage  brought 
from  the  hotel  and  gave  him  the  best  chamber  in  his 
house.  Up  to  the  29th  day  of  the  month,  the  Colonel 
was  cared  for  as  a  friend,  and  exhibited  as  a  phenom- 
enon. Seven  photographers  disputed  the  possession 
of  so  precious  a  sitter.  The  cities  of  Greece  did  no 
more  for  our  poor  old  Homer.  His  Royal  Highness, 
the  Prince  Regent,  wished  to  see  him  in  propria,  per- 
sonu,  and  begged  Herr  Hirtz  to  bring  him  to  the 
palace.     Fougas  scratched  his  ear  a  little,  and  inti- 


206  THE   MAN   WITH 

mated  that  a  soldier  ought  not  to  associate  with  the 
enemy,  seeming  to  think  himself  still  in  1813. 

The  Prince  is  a  distinguished  soldier,  having  com- 
manded in  person  at  the  famous,  siege  of  Rastadt. 
He  took  pleasure  in  Fougas'  conversation  ;  the  heroic 
simplicity  of  the  young  old-time  soldier  charmed  him. 
He  paid  him  huge  compliments  and  said  that  the 
Emperor  of  France  was  very  fortunate  in  having 
around  him  officers  of  so  much  merit. 

"  He  has  not  a  great  many,"  replied  the  Colonel. 
"  If  there  were  but  four  or  five  hundred  of  my  stamp, 
your  Europe  would  have  been  bagged  long  ago  !  " 

This  answer  seemed  more  amusing  than  threaten- 
ing, and  no  addition  was  immediately  made  to  the 
available  portion  of  the  Prussian  army. 

His  Royal  Highness  directly  informed  Fougas  that 
his  indemnity  had  been  fixed  at  two  himdred  and 
fifty  thousand  francs,  and  that  he  could  receive  the 
amount  at  the  treasury  whenever  he  should  find  it 
agreeable. 

"  My  Lord,"  replied  he,  "  it  is  always  agreeable 

to  pocket  the  money  of  an   enemy a  foreigner. 

But  wait !  I  am  not  a  censor-bearer  to  Plutus  :  give 
me  back  the  Rhine  and  Posen,  and  I'll  leave  you  your 
two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  francs." 

"  Are  you  dreaming  ?  "  said  the  Prince,  laughing. 
"  The  Rhine  and  Posen  !  " 

"  The  Rhine  belongs  to  France,  and  the  Posen  to 
Poland,  much  more  legitimately  than  this  money  to 
me.     But  so  it  is  with  great  lords :  they  make  it  a 


THE   BROKEN   EAR.  207 

duty  to  pay  little  debts,  and  a  point  of  honor  to 
iarnore  bis;  ones  !  " 

The  Prince  winced  a  little,  and  all  the  faces  of  the 
court  gave  a  sympathetic  twitch.  It  was  discovered 
that  M.  Fougas  had  evinced  bad  taste  in  letting  a 
crumb  of  truth  fall  into  a  big  plateful  of  follies. 

But  a  pretty  little  Viennese  baroness,  who  was 
at  the  presentation,  was  much  more  charmed  with  his 
appearance  than  scandalized  at  his  remarks.  The 
ladies  of  Vienna  have  made  for  themselves  a  reputa- 
tion for  hospitality  which  they  always  attempt  to 
support,  even  when  they  are  away  from  their  native 
land. 

The  baroness  of  Marcomarcus  had  still  another 
reason  for  getting  hold  of  the  Colonel :  for  two  or 
three  years  she  had,  as  a  matter  of  coarse,  been  mak- 
ing a  photographic  collection  of  celebrated  men.  Her 
album  was  peopled  with  generals,  statesmen,  philoso- 
phers, and  pianists,  who  had  given  their  portraits  to 

her,  after  writing  on  the  back  :  "  With  respects  of " 

There  were  to  be  found  there  several  Roman  prelates, 
and  even  a  celebrated  cardinal ;  but  a  more  direct 
envoy  from  the  other  world  was  still  wanting.  She 
wrote  Fougas,  then,  a  note  full  of  impatience  and 
curiosity,  inviting  him  to  supper.  Fougas,  who  was 
going  to  start  for  Dantzic  next  day,  took  a  sheet  of 
paper  embossed  with  a  great*  eagle,  and  set  to  work 
to  excuse  himself  politely.  He  feared — the  delicate 
and  chivalrous  soul ! — that  an  evening  of  conversation 
and  enjoyment  in  the  society  of  the  loveliest  women 


208  THE   MAN   WITH 

of  Germany  might  be  a  sort  of  moral  infidelity  to  the 
recollection  of  Clementine.  He  accordingly  hunted 
up  an  eligible  formula  of  address,  and  wrote  : 

"  Too  indulgent  Beauty,  I "  The  muse  dic- 
tated nothing-  more.  He  was  not  in  the  mood  for 
writing.  He  felt  rather  more  in  the  mood  for  supper. 
His  scruples  scattered  like  clouds  driven  before  a  brisk 
North  East  wind  ;  he  put  on  the  frogged  surtout, 
and  carried  his  reply  himself.  It  was  the  first  time 
that  he  had  been  out  to  supper  since  his  resuscitation. 
He  gave  evidence  of  a  good  appetite,  and  got  mod- 
erately drunk,  but  not  as  much  so  as  usual.  The 
Baroness  de  Marcomarcus,  astonished  at  his  high 
spirits  and  inexhaustible  vivacity,  kept  him  as  long 
as  she  could.  And  moreover  she  said  to  her  friends, 
on  showing  them  the  Colonel's  portrait,  "  Nothing  is 
needed  but  these  French  officers  to  conquer  the 
world  !  " 

The  next  day  he  packed  a  black  leather  trunk 
which  he  had  bought  at  Paris,  drew  his  money  from 
the  treasury,  and  set  out  for  Dantzic.  He  went  to 
sleep  in  the  cars  because  he  had  been  out  to  supper 
the  night  before.  A  terrible  snoring  awoke  him.  He 
looked  around  for  the  snorer,  and,  not  finding  him 
near  him,  opened  the  door  into  the  adjoining  com- 
partment (for  the  German  cars  are  much  larger  than 
the  French),  and  shook  a  fat  gentleman,  who  seemed 
to  have  a  Avholc  organ  playing  in  his  person.  At 
one  of  the  stations  he  drank  a  bottle  of  Marsala  and 
ate  a  couple  of  dozen  sandwiches,  for  last  night's 


THE    BROKEX    EAK.  209 

supper  seemed  to  have  hollowed  out  his  stomach.  At 
Dautzie,  he  rescued  his  black  trunk  from  the  hands 
of  an  enormous  baggage-snatcker  who  was  trjing  to 
take  possession  of  it. 

He  went  to  the  hest  hotel  in  the  place,  ordered 
his  supper,  and  hastened  to  Meisei-'s  house.  His 
friends  at  Berlin  had  given  him  accounts  of  that 
charming  family.  He  knew  that  he  would  hove  to 
deal  with  the  richest  and  most  avaricious  of  sharpers  : 
that  was  why  he  assumed  the  cavalier  tone  that  may 
have  seemed  strange  to  more  than  one  reader  in  the 
preceding  chapter. 

Unhappily,  he  let  himself  become  a  little  too  human 
as  soon  as  he  had  his  million  in  his  pocket.  A  curiosity 
to  investigate  the  long  yellow  bottles  all  the  way  to 
the  bottom,  came  near  doing  him  an  ugly  turn.  His 
reason  wandered,  about  one  o'clock  in  the  morning, 
if  I  am  to  believe  the  account  he  himself  gave.  He 
said  that,  after  saying  "  good  night  "  to  the  excellent 
people  who  had  treated  him  so  well,  he  tumbled  into 
a  large  and  deep  well,  whose  rim  was  hardly  raised 
above  the  level  of  the  street,  and  ought  at  least  to 
have  had  a  lamp  by  it.  "  I  came  to  "  (it  is  still  he 
speaking)  "  in  water,  very  fresh  and  of  a  pleasant 
taste.  After  swimming  around  a  minute  or  two, 
looking  for  a  firm  place  to  take  hold  of,  I  seized  a  big 
rope,  and  climbed  without  any  trouble  to  the  surface 
of  the  earth,  which  was  not  more  than  forty  feet  oif. 
It  required  nothing  but  wrists  and  a  little  gymnastic 
skill,  and  was  not  much  of  a  feat,  anyhow.     On  get- 


210  THE   MAN   WITH 

ing  on  to  the  pavement,  I  found  myself  in  the  presence 
of  a  sort  of  night  watchman,  who  was  bawling  the 
hours  through  the  street,  and  who  asked  me  insolently 
what  I  was  doing  there.  I  thrashed  him  for  his  im- 
pudence, and  the  gentle  exercise  did  me  good,  as  it 
set  my  blood  well  in  circulation  again.  Before  get- 
ting back  to  the  inn,  I  stopped  under  a  street  lamp, 
opened  my  pocket-book,  and  saw  with  pleasure  that 
my  million  was  not  wet.  The  leather  was  thick,  and 
the  clasp  firm  ;  moreover,  I  had  enveloped  Herr 
Meiser's  check  in  a  half-dozen  hundred-franc  bills,  in 
a  roll  as  fat  as  a  monk.  These  surroundings  had 
preserved  it." 

This  examination  being  made,  he  went  home, 
went  to  bed,  and  slept  with  his  fists  clenched.  The 
next  morning  he  received,  on  getting  up,  the  follow- 
ing memoranda,  which  came  from  the  Nancy  police  : 

"  Clementine  Pichon,  aged  eighteen,  minor 
daughter  of  Auguste  Pichon,  hotel-keeper,  and  Leonie 
Francelot,  was  married,  in  this  town,  January  11,1814, 
to  Louis  Antoine  Langevin  ;  profession  not  stated. 

"The  name  of  Langevin  is  as  rare  in  this  depart- 
ment, as  the  name  of  Pichon  is  common.  With  the 
exception  of  the  Hon.  M.  Victor  Langevin,  Counsellor 
to  the  Prefecture  at  Nancy,  there  is  only  known 
Langevin  (Pierre),  usually  called  Pierrot,  miller  in 
the  commune  of  Vergaville,  canton  of  Dieuze." 

Fougas  jumped  nearly  to  the  ceiling,  crying, 

"  I  have  a  son  !  " 

He  called  the  hotel-keeper,  and  said  to  him : 


THE   BROKEN   EAR.  211 

"  Make  out  my  bill,  and  send  my  baggage  to  tbe 
depot.  Take  my  ticket  for  Nancy  ;  I  shall  not  stop 
on  the  way.  Here  are  two  hundred  francs,  with 
which  I  want  you  to  drink  to  the  health  of  my  son  ! 
He  is  called  Victor,  after  me  !  He  is  counsellor  of 
the  Prefecture !  I'd  rather  he  were  a  soldier ;  but 
never  mind !  Ah  !  first  get  somebody  to  show  me 
the  way  to  the  bank !  I  must  go  and  get  a  million 
for  him  !  " 

As  there  is  no  direct  connection  between  Dantzic 
and  Xancy,  he  was  obliged  to  stop  at  Berlin.  M. 
Hirtz,  whom  he  met  accidentally,  told  him  that  the 
scientific  societies  of  the  city  were  preparing  an  im- 
mense banquet  in  his  honor ;  but  he  declined  posi- 
tively. 

"It's  not,"  said  he,  "that  I  despise  an  opportunity 
to  drink  in  good  company,  but  Nature  has  spoken : 
her  voice  draws  me  on  !  The  sweetest  intoxication 
to  all  rightly  constituted  hearts  is  that  of  paternal 
love!"  ' 

To  prepare  his  dear  child  for  the  joy  of  a  return 
so  little  expected,  he  enclosed  his  million  in  an  en- 
velope addressed  to  M.  Victor  Langevin,  with  a  long 
letter  which  closed  thus  : 

"  A  father's  blessing  is  more  precious  than  all  the  gold  in  the 
world  ! 

"  Victor  Fougas." 

The  infidelity  of  Clementine  Pichon  touched  his 
amour-propre  a  little,  but  he  soon  consoled  himself 
for  it. 


212  THE   MAN   WITH 

"  At  least,"  thought  he,  "  I'll  not  have  to  marry 
an  old  woman,  when  there's  a  young  one  waiting  fof 
me  at  Fontainebleau.  And,  moreover,  my  son  has  a 
name,  and  a  very  presentable  name.  Fougas  would 
be  a  great  deal  better,  but  Langevin  is  not  bad." 

He  arrived,  on  the  2d  of  September,  at  six  o'clock 
in  the  evening,  at  that  large  and  beautiful  but  some- 
what stupid  city  which  constitutes  the  Versailles  of 
Lorraine.  His  heart  was  beating  fit  to  burst.  To 
recuperate  his  energies,  he  took  a  good  dinner.  The 
landlord,  when  catechized  at  dessert,  gave  him  the 
very  best  accounts  of  M.  Victor  Langevin  :  a  man 
still  young,  married  for  the  past  six  years,  father  of  a 
boy  and  a  girl,  respected  in  the  neighborhood,  and 
prosperous  in  his  affairs. 

"  I  was  sure  of  it !  "  said  Fougas. 

He  poured  down  a  bumper  of  a  certain  kirsch- 
wasser  from  the  Black  Forest,  which  he  fancied 
delicious  with  his  maccaroni. 

The  same  evening,  M.  Langevin  related  to  his 
wife  how,  on  returning  from  the  club  at  ten  o'clock, 
he  had  been  brutally  accosted  by  a  drunken  man. 
He  at  first  took  him  for  a  robber,  and  prepared  to 
defend  himself;  but  the  man  contented  himself  with 
embracing  him,  and  then  ran  away  with  all  his 
might.  This  singular  accident  threw  the  two  spouses 
into  a  series  of  conjectures,  each  less  probable  than 
the  preceding.  But  as  they  were  both  young,  and 
had  been  married  barely  seven  years,  they  soon 
changed  the  subject. 


THE   BROKEN  EAR.  213 

The  next  morning,  Fougas,  laden  down  like  a 
miller's  ass  with  bon-bons,  presented  himself  at 
M.  Langevin's.  In  order  to  make  himself  welcome 
to  his  two  grandchildren,  he  had  skimmed  the  shop 
of  the  celebrated  Lebegue — the  Boissier  of  Nancy. 
The  servant  who  opened  the  door  for  him  asked  if 
he  were  the  gentleman  her  master  expected. 
"  Good  !  "  said  he  ;  "  my  letter  has  come  ?  " 
"  Yes,  sir  ;  yesterday  morning.  And  your  bag- 
gage ?  " 

"  I  left  it  at  the  hotel." 

"  Monsieur  will  not  be  satisfied  at  that.     Your 
room  is  ready,  up  stairs." 

"  Thanks  !   thanks  !   thanks  !      Take  this  hundred 
franc  note  for  the  good  news." 

"  Oh,  monsieur  !  it  was  not  worth  so  much." 
"  But  where  is  he  ?     I  want  to  see  him — to  em- 
brace him — to  tell  him " 

"  He's  dressing,  monsieur  ;  and  so  is  madame." 
"  And  the  children — my  dear  grandchildren  ?  " 
"  If  you  want  to  see  them,  they're  right  here,  in 
the  dining  room." 

"  If  I  want  to  !  Open  the  door  right  away  !  " 
He  discovered  that  the  little  boy  resembled  him, 
and  was  overjoyed  to  see  him  in  the  dress  of  an  ar- 
tillerist playing  with  a  sabre.  His  pockets  were  soon 
emptied  on  the  floor  ;  and  the  two  children,  at  the 
sight  of  so  many  good  things,  hung  about  his  neck. 

"  O  philosophers  !  "  cried  the  Colonel,  "  do  you 
dare  to  deny  the  existence  of  the  voice  of  Nature  ?  " 


214  THE   MAN  "WITH 

A  pretty  little  lady  (all  the  young  women  are 
pretty  in  Nancy)  ran  in  at  the  joyous  cries  of  the 
little  brood. 

"  My  daughter-in-law  !  "  cried  Fougas,  opening 
his  arms. 

The  lady  of  the  house  modestly  recoiled,  and  said, 
with  a  slight  smile  : 

"  You  are  mistaken,  sir  ;  I  am  not  your  daughter- 
in-law  ; 10 1  am  Madame  Langevin." 

"  What  a  fool  I  am ! "  thought  the  Colonel. 
"  Here  I  was  going  to  tell  our  family  secrets  before 
these  children.  Mind  your  manners,  Fougas !  You  are 
in  fine  society,  where  the  ardor  of  the  sweetest  senti- 
ments is  hidden  under  the  icy  mask  of  indifference." 

"  Be  seated,"  said  Mme.  Langevin.  "  I  hope  that 
you  have  had  a  pleasant  journey  ?  " 

"  Yes,  madame.  Only  steam  seemed  too  slow  for 
me!" 

"  I  did  not  know  that  you  were  in  such  a  hurry 
to  get  here." 

"  You  did  not,  then,  appreciate  that  I  was  fairly 
burning  to  be  with  you  ?  " 

"  I  am  glad  to  hear  it ;  it  is  a  proof  that  Reason 
and  Family  Affection  have  made  themselves  heard  at 
last." 

"  Was  it  my  fault  that  family  ties  did  not  speak 
effectually  sooner  ?  " 

"  Well,  after  all,  the  mam  thing  is  that  you  have 
listened  to  them.  We  will  exert  ourselves  to  prevent 
your  finding  Nancy  uninteresting." 


THE   BROKEN"   EAR.  21.T 

"  How  could  I,  since  I  am  to  live  with  you  ?  " 

"  Thank  you  !  Our  house  will  be  yours.  Try  to 
imagine  yourself  entirely  at  home." 

"  In  imagination,  and  affection  too,  madame." 

"  And  you'll  not  think  of  Paris  ao-ain  ?  " 

"  Paris ! 1  don't  care  any  more  for  it  than  I 

do  for  doomsday  !  " 

"  I  forewarn  you  that  people  are  not  in  the  habit 
of  fighting  duels  here." 

"  What  ?     You  know  already " 

"  We  know  all  about  it,  even  to  the  history  of 
that  famous  supper  with  those  rather  volatile  ladies." 

"  How  the  devil  did  you  hear  of  that  ?  But  that 
time,  believe  me,  I  was  very  excusable." 

M.  Langevin  here  made  his  appearance,  freshly 
shaven  and  rubicund — a  fine  specimen  of  the  sub-pre- 
fect in  embryo. 

"It's  wonderful,"  thought  Fougas,  "how  well  all 
our  family  bear  their  years  !  One  wouldn't  call  that 
chap  over  thirty-five,  and  he's  forty-six  if  he's  a  day. 
He  doesn't  look  a  bit  like  me,  by  the  way  ;  he  takes 
after  his  mother  !  " 

"  My  dear  !  "  said  Mme.  Langevin,  "  here's  a 
tough  subject,  who  promises  to  be  Aviser  in  future." 

"  You  are  welcome,  young  man  !  "  said  the  Coun- 
sellor, offering  his  hand  to  Fougas. 

This  reception  appeared  cold  to  our  poor  hero. 
He  had  been  dreaming  of  a  shower  of  kisses  and 
tears,  and  here  his  children  contented  themselves 
with  offering  their  hands. 


216  THE   MAX   WITH 

"My   chi monsieur,"    said    he    to   Langevin, 

"  there  is  one  person  still  needed  to  complete  our 
reunion.  A  few  mutual  wrongs,  and  those  smoothed 
over  by  time,  ought  not  to  build  an  insurmountable 
barrier  between  us.  May  I  venture  to  request  the 
favor  of  being  presented  to  your  mother  ?  " 

M.  Langevin  and  his  wife  opened  their  eyes  in 
astonishment. 

"  How,  monsieur  ?  "  said  the  husband.  "  Paris 
life  must-  have  affected  your  memory.  My  poor 
mother  is  no  more.  It  is  now  three  years  since  we 
lost  her !  " 

The  good  Fougas  burst  into  tears. 

"  Forgive  me !  "  said  he ;  "I  didn't  know  it. 
Poor  woman !  " 

"  I  don't  understand  you !  You  knew  my 
mother  ?  " 

"  Ingrate  !  " 

"  Why,  you're  an  amusing  fellow !  But  your 
parents  were  invited  to  the  funeral,  were  they  not  ?  " 

"  Whose  parents  ?  " 

"  Your  father  and  mother  !  " 

"  Eh  !  What's  this  you're  cackling  to  me  about  ? 
My  mother  was  dead  before  yours  was  born !  " 

"  Your  mother  dead  ?  " 

"  Yes,  certainly ;  in  '89  !  " 

"  What !  Wasn't  it  your  mother  who  sent  you 
here  ?  " 

"  Monster !  It  was  my  fatherly  heart  that 
brought  me!" 


THE    BROKEN    EAE.  217 

"  Fatherly   heart  ? Why,  then   you're   not 

young  Jamin,  who  has  been  cutting  up  didoes  in  the 
capital,  and  has  been  sent  to  Nancy  to  go  throng? 
the  Agricultural  School  ?  " 

The  Colonel  answered  with  the  voice  of  Jupiter 
tonans : 

"  I  am  Fougas  !  " 

"Very  well!" 

"  If  Nature  says  nothing  to  you  in  my  behalf, 
ungrateful  son,  question  the  spirit  of  your  mother  !  " 

"  Upon  my  soul,  sir,"  cried  the  Counsellor,  "  we 
can  play  at  cross  purposes  a  good  while  !     Sit  down 

there,  if  you  please,  and  tell  me  your  business 

Marie,  take  away  the  children." 

Fougas  did  not  require  any  urging.  He  detailed 
the  romance  of  his  life,  without  omitting  anything, 
but  with  many  delicate  touches  for  the  filial  ears  of 
M.  Langevin.  The  Counsellor  heard  him  patiently, 
with  an  appearance  of  perfect  disinterestedness. 

"  Monsieur,"  said  he,  at  last,  "  at  first  I  took  you 
for  a  madman  ;  but  now  I  remember  that  the  news- 
papers have  contained  some  scraps  of  your  history, 
and  I  see  that  you  are  the  victim  of  a  mistake.  I  am 
not  forty-six  years  old,  but  thirty-four.  My  mother's 
name  was  not  Clementine  Pichon,  but  Marie  Herval. 
She  was  not  born  at  Nancy,  but  at  Vannes,  and  she 
was  but  seven  years  old  in  1813.  Nevertheless,  I  am 
happy  to  make  your  acquaintance." 

"  Ah  !  you're  not  my  son  !  "  replied  Fougas, 
angrily.  "  Very  well !  So  much  the  worse  for  you ! 
10 


218  THE    MAN   WITH 

No  one  seems  to  want  a  father  of  the  name  of  Fou- 
gas  !  As  for  sons  hy  the  name  of  Langevin,  one  only 
has  to  stoop  to  pick  them  np.  I  know  where  to  find 
one  who  is  not  a  Counsellor  of  the  Prefecture,  it  is 
true,  and  who  does  not  put  on  a  laced  coat  to  go  to 
mass,  but  who  has  an  honest  and  simple  heart,  and  is 
named  Pierre,  just  like  me !  But,  I  beg  your  pardon, 
wThen  one  shows  gentlemen  the  door,  one  ought  at 
least  to  return  what  belongs  to  them." 

"  I  don't  prevent  your  collecting  the  bon-bons 
wdiich  my  children  have  scattered  over  the  floor." 

"  Yes,  I'm  talking  about  bon-bons  writh  a  ven- 
geance !     My  million,  sir  !  " 

"  What  million  ?  " 

"  Your  brother's  million  ! No !     The  million 

that  belongs  to  him  who  is  not  your  brother — to  Cle- 
mentine's son,  my  dear  and  only  child,  the  only  scion 
of  my  race,  Pierre  Langevin,  called  Pierrot,  a  miller 
at  Vergaville !  " 

"  But  I  assure  you,  monsieur,  that  I  haven't  your 
million,  or  anybody's  else." 

"  You  dare  to  deny  it,  scoundrel,  when  I  sent  it 
to  you  by  mail,  myself !  " 

"  Possibly  you  sent  it,  but  I  certainly  have  not 
received  it !  " 

"  Aha !     Defend  yourself!  " 

He  made  at  his  throat,  and  perhaps  France  would 
have  lost  a  Counsellor  of  Prefecture  that  day,  if  the 
servant  had  not  come  in  with  two  letters  in  her  hand. 
Fougas    recognized    his  owrn    handwriting  and  the 


THE    BROKEN    EAR,  219 

Berlin  postmark,  tore  open  the  envelope,  and  dis- 
played the  check. 

"  Here,"  said  he,  "  is  the  million  I  intended  for 
yon,  it'  you  had  seen  fit  to  be  my  son  !  Now  it's  too 
late  for  you  to  retract.  The  voice  of  Nature  calls  me 
to  Vergaville.     Your  servant,  sir  !  " 

On  the  4th  of  September,  Pierre  Langevin,  miller 
at  Vergaville,  celebrated  the  marriage  of  Cadet  Lan- 
gevin, his  second  son.  The  miller's  family  was  nu- 
merous, respectable,  and  in  comfortable  circum- 
stances. First,  there  was  the  grandfather,  a  fine, 
hale  old  man,  who  took  his  four  meals  a  day,  aud 
doctored  his  little  ailings  with  the  wine  of  Bar  or 
Thiaucourt.  The  grandmother,  Catharine,  had  been 
pretty  in  her  day,  and  a  little  frivolous  ;  but  she 
expiated  by  absolute  deafness  the  crime  ot  having 
listened  too  tenderly  to  gallants.  M.  Pierre  Lan- 
gevin, alias  Pierrot,  alias  Big  Peter,  after  having 
sought  his  fortune  in  America  (a  custom  becoming 
quite  general  in  the  rural  districts),  had  returned  to 
the  village  in  pretty  much  the  condition  of  the  infant 
Saint  John,  and  God  only  knows  how  many  jokes 
were  perpetrated  over  his  ill  luck.  The  people  of 
Lorraine  are  terrible  wags,  and  if  you  are  not  fond 
of  personal  jokes,  I  advise  you  not  to  travel  in  their 
neighborhood.  Big  Peter,  stung  to  the  quick,  and 
half  crazed  at  having  run  through  his  inheritance,  bor- 
rowed money  at  ten  per  cent.,  bought  the  mill  at 
Vergaville,  worked  like  a  plough-horse  in  heavy  land, 
and  repaid  his  capital  and  the  interest.   Fortune,  who 


220  THE    MAN    WITH 

owed  him  some  compensations,  gave  him  gratis  pro- 
Dec,  a  half  dozen  superb  workers— six  big  boys, 
whom  his  wife  presented  him  with,  one  annually,  as 
regularly  as  clock-work.  Every  year,  nine  months, 
to  a  day,  after  the  fete  of  Vergaville,  Claudine  (other- 
wise known  as  Glaudine)  presented  one  for  baptism. 
At  last  she  died  after  the  sixth,  from  eating  four 
huge  pieces  of  quiche  before  her  churching.  Big 
Peter  did  not  marry  again,  having  concluded  that  he 
had  workers  enough,  and  he  continued  to  add  to  his 
fortune  nicely.  But,  as  standing  jokes  last  a  long  time 
in  villages,  the  miller's  comrades  still  spoke  to  him 
about  those  famous  millions  which  he  did  not  bring 
back  from  America,  and  Big  Peter  grew  very  red 
under  his  flour,  just  as  he  used  to  in  his  earlier  days. 

On  the  4th  of  September,  then,  he  married  his 
second  son  to  a  good  big  woman  of  Altroff,  who  had 
fat  and  blazing  cheeks  :  this  being  a  kind  of  beauty 
much  affected  in  the  country.  The  wedding  took 
place  at  the  mill,  because  the  bride  was  orphaned  of 
father  and  mother,  and  had  previously  lived  with  the 
nuns  of  Molsheim. 

A  messenger  came  and  told  Pierre  Langevin  that 
a  gentleman  wearing  decorations  had  something  to 
say  to  him,  and  Fougas  appeared  in  all  his  glory. 
"My  good  sir,"  said  the  miller,  "I  am  far  from  being 
in  a  mood  to  talk  business,  as  we  just  took  a  good 
pull  at  white  wine  before  mass  ;  but  we  are  going  to 
drink  some  red  wine  that's  by  no  means  bad,  at 
dinner,  and  if  your  heart  prompts  you,  don't  be  back- 


THE   BROKEN   EAR.  221 

ward !     The  table  is  a  long  one.     We  can  talk  after- 
wards.    You  don't  say  no  ?     Then  that's  yes." 

"  For  once,"  thought  Fougas,  "  I  am  not  mis- 
taken. This  is  surely  the  voice  of  Nature  !  I  would 
have  liked  a  soldier  better,  but  this  genial  rustic,  so 
comfortably  rounded,  satisfies  my  heart.  I  cannot  be 
indebted  to  him  for  many  gratifications  of  my  pride  ; 
but  never  mind  !     I  am  sure  of  his  good- will." 

Dinner  was  served,  and  the  table  more  heavily 
laden  with  viands  than  the  stomach  of  Gargantua. 
Big  Peter,  as  proud  of  his  big  family  as  of  his  little 
fortune,  made  the  Colonel  stand  by  as  ne  enumerated 
his  children.  And  Fougas  was  joyful  at  learning  that 
he  had  six  welcome  grandchildren. 

He  was  seated  at  the  right  of  a  little  stunted  old 
woman  who  was  presented  to  him  as  the  grand- 
mother of  the  youngsters.  Heavens  !  how  changed 
Clementine  appeared  to  him.  Save  the  eyes  which 
were  still  lively  and  sparkling,  there  was  no  longer 
anything  about  her  that  could  be  recognized.  "  See," 
thought  Fougas,  "  what  I  would  have  been  like  to- 
day, if  the  worthy  John  Meiser  had  not  desiccated 
me !  "  He  smiled  to  himself  on  regarding  Grand- 
father Langevin,  the  reputed  progenitor  of  this  nu- 
merous family.  "  Poor  old  fellow,"  murmured  Fou- 
gas, "  you  little  think  what  you  owe  to  me  !  " 

They  dine  boistei'ously  at  village  weddings.  This 
is  an  abuse  which,  I  sincerely  hope,  Civilization  will 
never  reform.  Under  cover  of  the  noise,  Fougas 
entered  into  conversation,  or  thought  he  did,  with 


222  THE    MAN    WITH 

his  left-hand  neighbor.  "  Clementine  !  "  he  said  to 
her.  She  raised  her  eyes,  and  her  nose  too,  and  re« 
sponded : 

"  Yes,  monsieur." 

"  My  heart  has  not  deceived  me,  then  ? — you  are 
indeed  my  Clementine  !  " 

"  Yes,  monsieur." 

"  And  you  have  recognized  me,  noble  and  excel- 
lent woman !  " 

"  Yes,  monsieur." 

"  But    how   did   you    conceal   your    emotion    so 

well  ? How  strong  women  are  ! 1  fall  from 

the  skies  into  the  midst  of  your  peaceful  existence, 
and  you  see  me  without  moving  a  muscle  !  " 

"  Yes,  monsieur." 

"  Have  you  forgiven  me  for  a  seeming  injury  for 
which  Destiny  alone  is  responsible  ?  " 

'  Yes,  monsieur." 

"  Thanks  !      A  thousand   thanks  ! What  a 

charming  family  you  have  about  you !  This  good 
Pierre,  who  almost  opened  his  arms  on  seeing  me 
approach,  is  my  son,  is  he  not  ?  " 

"  Yes,  monsieur." 

"  Rejoice  !  He  shall  be  rich  !  He  already  has 
happiness  ;  I  bring  him  fortune.  His  portion  shall  be 
a  million.  Oh,  Clementine  !  what  a  commotion  there 
will  be  in  this  simple  assembly,  when  I  raise  my 
voice  and  say  to  my  son  :  '  Here  !  this  million  is  for 
you  ! '  Is  it  a  good  time  now  ?  Shall  I  speak  ?  Shall 
I  tell  all  ?  " 


THE    BROKEN    EAB.  223 

"  Yes,  monsieur." 

Fougas  immediately  arose,  and  requested  silence. 
The  people  thought  he  was  going  to  sing  a  song,  and 
all  kept  quiet. 

"  Pierre  Langevin,"  said  he  with  emphasis,  "  \ 
have  come  back  from  the  other  world,  and  brought 
you  a  million." 

If  Big  Peter  did  not  want  to  get  angry,  he  at 
least  got  red,  and.  the  joke  seemed  to  him  in  bad 
taste.  But  when  Fougas  announced,  that  he  had 
loved  the  grandmother  in  her  youth,  grandfather 
Langevin  no  longer  hesitated  to  fling  a  bottle  at  bis 
head.  The  Colonel's  son,  his  splendid  grandchildren, 
and  even  the  bride  all  jumped  up  in  high  dudgeon 
and  there  was  a  very  pretty  scrimmage  indeed. 

For  the  first. time  in  his  life,  Fougas  did  not  get 
the  upper  hand.  He  was  afraid  that  he  might  injure 
some  of  his  family.  Paternal  affection  robbed  him 
of  three  quarters  of  his  power. 

But  having  learned  during  the  clamor  that  Cle- 
mentine was  called  Catharine,  and  that  Pierre  Lan- 
gevin was  born  in  1810,  he  resumed  the  offensive, 
blacked  three  eyes,  broke  an  ai'm,  mashed  two  noses, 
knocked  in  four  dozen  teeth,  and  regained  his  car- 
riage with  all  the  honors  of  war. 

"  Devil  take  the  children  !  "  said  he,  while  riding 
in  a  post-chaise  toward  the  Avricourt  station.  "  If  I 
have  a  son,  I  wish  he  may  find  me  !  " 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

HE  SEEKS  AND  BESTOWS  THE  HAND  OF  CLEMENTINE. 

On  the  fifth  of  September,  at  ten  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  Leon  Renault,  emaciated,  dejected  and 
scarcely  recognizable,  was  at  the  feet  of  Clementine 
Sambucco  in  her  aunt's  parlor.  There  were  flowers 
on  the  mantel  and  flowers  in  all  the  vases.  Two 
great  burglar  sunbeams  broke  through  the  open 
windows.  A  million  of  little  bluish  atoms  were 
playing  in  the  light,  crossing  each  other  and  getting 
fantastically  mixed  up,  like  the  ideas  in  a  volume 
of  M.  Alfred  Houssaye.  In  the  garden,  the  apples 
were  falling,  the  peaches  were  ripe,  the  hornets  were 
ploughing  broad,  deep  furrows  in  the  duchesse  pears  ; 
the  trumpet-flowers  and  clematis-vines  were  in 
blossom,  and  to  crown  all,  a  great  mass  of  heliotropes, 
trained  over  the  left  window,  was  flourishing  in  all 
its  beauty.  The  sun  had  given  all  the  grapes  in  the 
arbor  a  tint  of  golden  bronze ;  and  the  great  Yucca 
on  the  lawn,  shaken  by  the  wind  like  a  Chinese  hat, 
noiselessly  clashed  its  silver  bells.  But  the  son  of 
M.  Renault  was  more  pale  and  haggard  than  the 


THE   MAN   WITH   THE   BROKEN   EAR.  225 

white  lilac  sprays,  more  blighted  than  the  leaves  on 
the  old  cherry-tree ;  his  heart  was  without  joy  and 
without  hope,  like  the  currant  bushes  without  leaves 
and  without  fruit ! 

To  be  exiled  from  his  native  land,  to  have  lired 
three  years  in  an  inhospitable  climate,  to  have  passed 
so  many  days  in  deep  mines,  so  many  nights  over 
an  earthenware  stove  in  the  midst  of  an  infinity  of 
bugs  and  a  multiplicity  of  serfs,  and  to  see  himself 
set  aside  for  a  twenty-five-louis  Colonel  whom  he 
himself  had  brought  to  life  bv  soaking  him  in  water ! 

All  men  are  subject  to  disappointments,  but  surely 
never  had  one  encountered  a  misfortune  so  unforeseen 
and  so  extraordinary.  Leon  knew  that  Earth  is  not 
a  valley  flowing  with  chocolate  and  soup  a  la  reine. 
He  knew  the  list  of  the  renowned  unfortunates  begin- 
ing  with  Abel  slain  in  the  garden  of  Paradise,  and 
ending  with  Rubens  assassinated  in  the  gallery  of 
the  Louvre  at  Paris.  But  history,  which  seldom  in- 
structs us,  never  consoles  us.  The  poor  engineer  in 
vain  repeated  to  himself  that  a  thousand  others  had 
been  supplanted  on  the  day  before  marriage,  and  a 
hundred  thousand  on  the  day  after.  Melancholy  was 
stronger  than  Reason,  and  three  or  four  soft  locks 
were  beginning  to  whiten  about  his  temples. 

"  Clementine  ! "  said  he,  "  I  am  the  most  misera- 
ble of  men.  In  refusing  me  the  hand  which  you 
have  promised,  you  condemn  me  to  agony  a 
hundred  times  worse  than  death.  Alas !  What 
would  you  have  me  become  without  you  ?  I  must 
10* 


226  THE   MAN   WITH 

live  alone,  for  I  love  you  too  well  to  marry  another, 
For  four  long  years,  all  ray  affections,  all  my  thoughts 
have  been  centred  upon  you ;  I  have  become  ac- 
customed to  regard  other  women  as  inferior  beings, 
unworthy  of  attracting  the  interest  of  a  man  !  I 
will  not  speak  to  you  of  the  efforts  I  have  made  to 
deserve  you;  they  brought  their  reward  in  them- 
selves, and  I  was  already  too  happy  in  working  and 
suffering  for  you.  But  see  the  misery  in  which  your 
desertion  has  left  me !  A  sailor  thrown  upon  a 
desert  island  has  less  to  deplore  than  I :  I  will  be 
forced  to  live  near  you,  to  witness  the  happiness  of 
another,  to  see  you  pass  my  windows  upon  the  arm 
of  my  rival !  Ah  !  death  would  be  more  endurable 
than  this  constant  agony.  But  I  have  not  even  the 
right  to  die  !  My  poor  old  parents  have  already 
sorrows  enough.  What  would  it  be,  Great  God! 
if  I  were  to  condemu  them  to  bear  the  loss  of  their 
son  ?  " 

This  complaint,  punctuated  with  sighs  and  tears, 
lacerated  the  heart  of  Clementine.  The  poor  child 
wept  too,  for  she  loved  Leon  with  her  whole  soul, 
but  she  was  interdicted  from  telling  him  so.  More 
than  once,  on  seeing  him  half  dying  before  her,  she 
felt  tempted  to  throw  her  arms  about  his  neck,  but 
the  recollection  of  Fougas  paralyzed  all  her  tender 
impulses. 

"My  poor  friend,"  said  she,  "  you  judge  me  very 
wrongfully  if  you  think  me  insensible  to  your  suf- 
ferings.    I  have  known  you  thoroughly,  Leon,  and 


THE    BBOKEX   EAK.  227 

that  too  since  my  very  childhood.  I  know  all  that 
there  is  in  you  of  devotion,  delicacy  and  precious 
and  noble  virtues.  Since  the  time  when  you  carried 
me  in  your  arms  to  the  poor,  and  put  a  penny  in 
my  hand  to  teach  me  to  give  alms,  I  have  never 
heard  benevolence  spoken  of  without  involuntarily 
thinking  of  yon.  When  you  whipped  a  boy  twice 
your  size  for  taking  away  my  doll,  I  felt  that  courage 
was  noble  and  that  a  woman  wTould  be  happy  in 
being  able  to  lean  on  a  brave  man.  All  that  I  have 
ever  seen  you  do  since  that  time,  has  only  redoubled 
my  esteem  and  my  sympathy.  Believe  me  that  it 
is  neither  from  wickedness  or  ingratitude  that  I  make 
you  suffer  now.  Alas  !  I  no  longer  belong  to  myself, 
I  am  under  external  control ;  I  am  like  those  auto- 
matons that  move  without  knowing  why.  Yes,  I 
feel  an  impulse  within  me  more  powerful  than  my 
self  control,  and  it  is  the  will  of  another  that  leads 
me." 

"  If  I  could  but  be  sure  that  you  will  be  happy  ! 
But  no  !  This  man,  before  whom  you  immolate  me, 
will  never  know  the  worth  of  a  soul  as  delicate  as 
yours.  He  is  a  brute,  a  swash-buckler,  a  drunkard." 

"  I  beseech  you,  Leon,  remember  that  he  has  a 
right  to  my  unreserved  respect !  " 

"  Respect !  For  him !  And  why  ?  I  ask  of  you, 
in  Heaven's  name,  what  you  find  respectable  in  the 
character  of  Mister  Fougas  ?  His  age  ?  He  is  younger 
than  I.  His  talents  ?  He  never  shows  them  any- 
where but  at  the  table.    His  education  ?  It's  lovely,! 


228  THE   MAN"   WITH 

His  virtues  ?  I  know  what  is  to  be  thought  of  hia 
refinement  and  gratitude  !  " 

"  I  have  respected  him,  Leon,  since  I  first  saw 
him  in  his  coffin.  It  is  a  sentiment  stronger  than  all 
else  ;  I  cannot  explain  it,  I  can  but  submit  to  it." 

"  Very  well !  Respect  him  as  much  as  you 
please  !  Yield  to  the  superstition  that  enchains  you. 
See  in  him  a  miraculous  being,  consecrated,  rescued 
from  the  grip  of  Death  to  accomplish  something 
great  on  earth  !  But  this  itself,  Oh  my  dear  Clemen- 
tine, is  a  barrier  between  you  and  him  !  If  Fougas 
is  outside  of  the  conditions  of  humanity,  if  he  is  a 
phenomenon,  a  being  apart,  a  hero,  a  demigod,  a 
fetich,  you  cannot  seriously  think  of  becoming  his 
wife.  As  for  me,  I  am  but  a  man  like  others,  born 
to  work,  to  suffer  and  to  love.  I  love  you !  Love 
me!  " 

';  Scoundrel ! "  cried  Fougas,  opening  the  door. 

Clementine  uttered  a  cry,  Leon  sprung  up  quickly, 
but  the  Colonel  had  already  siezed  him  by  the  most 
practicable  part  of  his  nankeen  suit,  before  he  had 
even  time  to  think  of  a  single  word  in  reply.  The 
engineer  was  lifted  up,  balanced  like  an  atom  in  one 
of  the  sunbeams,  and  flung  into  the  very  midst  of 
the  heliotropes.    Poor  Leon  !    Poor  heliotropes ! 

In  less  than  a  second,  the  young  man  was  on  his 
feet.  He  dusted  the  earth  from  his  knees  and  elbows, 
approached  the  window,  and  said  in  a  calm  but 
resolute  voice  :  "  Mister  Colonel,  I  sincerely  regret 
having  brought  you  back  to  life,  but  possihly  the 


THE    BROKEN    EAR.  229 

folly  of  which  I  have  been  guilty  is  not  irreparable. 
I  hope  soon  to  have  an  opportunity  to  find  out  if  it 
be  !     As  for  you,  Mademoiselle,  I  love  you ! " 

The  Colonel  shrugged  his  shoulders  and  put  him- 
self at  the  young  girl's  feet  on  the  very  cushion 
which  still  bore  the  impression  left  by  Leon.  Mile. 
Virginie  Sambucco,  attracted  by  the  noise,  came 
down  stairs  like  an  avalanche  and  heard  the  following 
conversation. 

" Idol  of  a  ffreat  soul !  Fouo-as  returns  to  thee 
like  the  eagle  to  his  eyrie.  I  have  long  travelled  the 
world  in  pursuit  of  rank,  fortune  and  family  which  I 
was  burning  to  lay  at  thy  feet.  Fortune  has  obeyed 
me  as  a  slave :  she  knows  in  what  school  I  learned 
the  art  of  controlling  her.  I  have  gone  through  Paris 
and  Germany  like  a  victorious  meteor  led  by  its  star. 
I  have  everywhere  associated  as  an  equal  with  the 
powers  of  Earth,  and  made  the  trumpet  of  truth 
resound  in  the  halls  of  kings.  I  have  put  my  foot 
on  the  throat  of  greedy  Avarice,  and  snatched  from 
him  a  part,  at  least,  of  the  treasures  which  he  had 
stolen  from  too-confiding  Honor.  One  only  blessing 
is  denied  me  :  the  son  I  hoped  to  see  has  escaped  the 
lynx-eyes  of  paternal  love.  Neither  have  I  found 
the  ancient  object  of  my  first  affections.  But  what 
matters  it?  I  shall  feel  the  want  of  nothing,  if  you 
fill  for  me  the  place  of  all.  What  do  we  wait  for 
now  ?  Are  you  deaf  to  the  voice  of  Happiness  which 
calls  you  ?  Let  us  go  to  the  temple  of  the  laws,  then 
you  shall  follow  me  to  the  foot  of  the  altar;  a  priest 


230  THE    MAN    WITH 

shall  consecrate  our  bonds,  and  we  will  go  through 
life  leaning  on  one  another,  I  like  the  oak  sustaining 
weakness,  thou  like  the  graceful  vy  ornamenting  the 
emblem  of  strength."  " 

Clementine  remained  a  few  moments  without 
answering,  as  if  stunned  by  the  Colonel's  vehement 
rhetoric.  "Monsieur  Fougas,"  she  said  to  him,  "I 
have  always  obeyed  you,  I  promise  to  obey  you  all 
my  life.  If  you  do  not  wish  me  to  marry  poor  Leon, 
I  will  renounce  him.  I  love  him  devotedly,  never- 
theless, and  a  single  word  from  him  arouses  more 
emotion  in  my  heart  than  all  the  fine  things  you 
have  said  to  me." 

"  Good  !  Very  good  !  "  cried  the  Aunt.  "  As  for 
me,  sir,  although  you  have  never  done  me  the  honor 
to  consult  me,  I  will  tell  you  my  opinion.  My  niece 
is  not  at  all  the  woman  to  suit  you.  Were  you 
richer  than  M.  de  Rothschild  and  more  illustrious 
than  the  Duke  of  Malakoff,  I  would  not  advise 
Clementine  to  marry  you." 

"  And  why,  chaste  Minerva  ?  " 

"  Because  you  would  love  her  fifteen  days,  and 
then,  at  the  first  sound  of  cannon,  be  off  to  the  Avars  ! 
You  would  abandon  her,  sir,  just  as  you  did  that  un- 
happy Clementine  whose  misfortunes  have  been  re- 
counted to  us  ! " 

"  Zounds !  Lady  Aunt !  I  do  advise  you  to  be- 
stow your  pity  on  her  !  Three  months  after  Leipzic, 
she  married  a  fellow  named  Langevin  at  Nancy." 

"  What  do  you  say  ?  " 


THE    BROKEN"    EAR.  231 

"  I  say  that  she  married  a  military  commissary 
named  Langevin." 

"  At  Nancy  ?  " 

"At  that  identical  town." 

"  This  is  strange  ! 

"  It's  outrageous ! 

"  But  this  woman — this  young  girl— her  name  ? 

"  I've  told  you  a  hundred  times  :  Clementine  !" 

"  Clementine  what  ? 

"  Clementine  Pichon." 

"  Gracious  Heavens  !  My  keys  !  Where  are  my 
keys  ?  I'm  sure  I  put  them  in  my  pocket !  Clemen- 
tine Pichon !  M.  Langevin !  It's  impossible !  My 
senses  are  forsaking  me  !  Come,  my  child,  bestir 
yourself!  The  happiness  of  your  whole  life  is  con- 
cerned. Where  did  you  poke  my  keys  ?  Ah  !  Here 
they  are  !  " 

Fougas  bent  over  to  Clementine's  ear,  and  said : 

"Is  she  subject  to  these  attacks?  One,  would 
suppose  that  the  poor  old  girl  had  lost  her  head  !  " 

But  Yirginie  Sambucco  had  already  opened  a 
little  rosewood  secretary.  Her  unerring  glance  dis- 
covered in  a  file  of  papers,  a  sheet  yellow  with 
age. 

"  I've  got  it !  "  said  she  with  a  cry  of  joy.  "  Marie 
Clementine  Pichon,  legitimate  daughter  of  August 
Pichon,  hotel  keeper,  rue  doi  Merlettes,  in  this  town 
of  Nancy  ;  married  June  10th,  1814,  to  Joseph  Lan- 
gevin, military  sub-commissary.  Is  it  surely  she, 
Monsieur  ?  Dare  to  say  it  isn't  she !  " 


232  THE   MAN   WITH 

m 

"Well!  But  how  do  you  happen  to  have  my 
family  papers  ?  " 

"  Poor  Clementine  !  And  you  accuse  her  of  un- 
faithfulness !  You  do  not  understand  then  that  you 
had  been  taken  for  dead  !  That  she  supposed  herself 
a  widow  without  having  been  a  wife ;  that — 

"  It's  all  right !  It's  all  right !  I  forgive  her. 
Where  is  she  ?  I  want  to  see  her,  to  embrace  her,  to 
tell  her—  " 

"  She  is  dead,  Monsieur !  She  died  three  months 
after  she  was  married," 

"Ah!  The  Devil!" 

"  In  giving  birth  to  a  daughter — " 

"  Where  is  my  daughter  ?  I'd  rather  have  had  a 
son,  but  never  mind  !  Where  is  she  ?  I  want  to  see 
her,  to  embrace  her,  to  tell  her —  " 

"  Alas  !  She  is  no  more  !  But  I  can  conduct  you 
to  her  tomb." 

"  But  how  the  Devil  did  you  know  her  ?  " 

"  Because  she  married  my  brother  !  " 

"  Without  my  consent  ?  But  never  mind  !  At 
least  she  left  some  children,  didn't  she  ?  " 

"  Only  one." 

"A  son !     He  is  my  grandson  ! " 

"A  daughter." 

"  Never  mind !  She  is  my  granddaughter !  I'd 
rather  have  had  a  grandson,  but  where  is  she  ?  I 
want  to  see  her.  to  embrace  her,  to  tell  her — " 

"  Embrace  away,  Monsieur  !  Her  name  is  Clemen- 
tine :  after  her  grandmother,  and  there  she  is  ! " 


THE    BROKEN    EAR.  233 

"  She  !  That  accounts  for  the  resemblance  !     But 
'then  I  can't  marry  her !    Never  mind  !    Clementine 
Come  to  my  arms !    Embrace  your  grandfather !  " 

The  poor  child  had  not  been  able  entirely  to  com- 
prehend this  rapid  conversation,  from  which  events 
had  been  falling  like  tiles,  upon  the  head  of  the  Colonel. 
She  had  always  heard  M,  Langevin  spoken  of  as  her 
maternal  grandfather,  and  now  she  seemed  to  hear 
that  her  mother  was  the  daughter  of  Fougas.  But 
she  knew  at  the  first  words,  that  it  was  no  longer 
possible  for  her  to  marry  the  Colonel,  and  that  she 
would  soon  be  married  to  Leon  Renault.  It  was, 
therefore,  from  an  impulse  of  joy  and  gratitude  that 
she  flung  herself  into  the  arms  of  the  young-old  man. 

"  Ah  ,  Monsieur !  "  said  she,  "I  haAre  always  loved 
and  respected  you  like  a  grandfather  !  " 

"  And  I,  my  poor  child,  have  always  behaved 
myself  like  an  old  beast !  All  men  are  brutes,  and 
all  women  are  angels.  You  divined  with  the  deli- 
cate instinct  of  your  sex,  that  you  owed  me  respect, 
and  I,  fool  that  I  am,  didn't  divine  anything  at  all ! 
Whew  !  Without  the  venerable  Aunt  there,  I'd  have 
made  a  pretty  piece  of  work  !  " 

"  No,"  said  the  aunt."  You  would  have  found 
out  the  truth  in  going  over  our  family  papers." 

"  Would  that  I  could  have  seen  them  and  nothing 
more  !  Just  to  think  that  I  went  off  to  seek  my 
heirs  in  the  department  of  Meurthe,  when  I  had  left 
my  family  in  Fontainebleau  !  Imbecile  !  Bah  !  But 
never  mind,  Clementine  !  You  shall  bs  rich,  you  shall 


234  THE   MAN   WITH 

marry  the  man  you  love!  Where  is  he,  the  bravfc 
boy  ?  I  want  to  see  him,  to  embrace  him,  to  tell 
him — 

"  Alas,  Monsieur;  you  just  threw  him  out  of  the 
window." 

"I?  Hold  on,  it  is  true.  I  had  forgotten  all 
about  it.  Fortunately  he's  not  hurt,  and  I'll  go 
at  once  and  make  amends  for  my  folly.  You 
shall  get  married  when  you  want  to ;  the  two 
weddings  shall  come  oif  together. — But  in  fact,  no  ! 
What  am  I  saying  ?  I  shall  not  marry  now  !  It 
will  all  be  well  soon,  my  child,  my  dear  grand- 
daughter. Mademoiselle  Sambucco  you're  a  model 
aunt ;  embrace  me  !  " 

He  ran  to  M.  Renault's  house,  and  Gothon,  who 
saw  him  coming,  ran  down  to  shut  him  out. 

"  Ain't  you  ashamed  of  yourself,"  said  she,  "  to 
act  this  way  with  them  as  brought  you  to  life 
again  ?  Ah  !  If  it  had  to  be  clone  over  again ! 
We  wouldn't  turn  the  house  upside  down  again  for 
the  sake  of  your  fine  eyes !  Madame's  crying,  Mon- 
sieur is  tearing  his  hair,  M.  Leon  has  just  been  send- 
ing two  officers  to  hunt  you  up.  What  have  you 
been  at  again  since  morning  ?  " 

Fouffas  save  her  a  twirl  on  her  feet  and  found 
himself  face  to  face  with  the  engineer.  Leon  had 
heard  the  sound  of  a  quarrel,  and  on  seeing  the 
Colonel  excited,  with  Hashing  eyes,  he  expected  some 
brutal  aggression  and  did  not  wait  for  the  first  blow. 
A  struggle  took  place  in  the  passage  amid  the  cries 


THE    BROKEN    EAR.  235 

of  Gothon,  M.  Renault  and  the  poor  old  lady,  who 
was  screaming  "Murder!"  Leon  wrestled,  kicked, 
and  from  time  to  time  lanched  a  vigorous  blow  into 
the  body  of  his  antagonist.  He  had  to  succumb, 
nevertheless  ;  the  Colonel  finished  by  upsetting  him 
on  the  ground  and  holding  him  there.  Theu  he 
kissed  him  on  both  cheeks  and  said  to  him : 

"  Ah !  You  naughty  boy  !  Now  I'm  pretty 
sure  to  make  you  listen  to  me !  I  am  Clementine's 
grandfather,  and  I  give  her  to  you  in  marriage,  and 
you  can  have  the  wedding  to-morrow  if  you  want  to  - 
Do  you  hear  ?  Now  get  up,  and  don't  you  punch 
me  in  the  stomach  any  more.  It  woidd  be  almost 
parricide  ! " 

Mile  Sambucco  and  Clementine  arrived  in  the 
midst  of  the  general  stupefaction.  They  completed 
the  recital  of  Fougas,  who  had  gotten  himself  pretty 
badly  mixed  up  in  the  genealogy.  Leon's  seconds 
appeared  in  their  turn.  They  had  not  found  the 
enemy  in  the  hotel  were  he  had  taken  up  his  quarters, 
and  came  to  give  an  account  of  their  mission.  A 
tableau  of  perfect  happiness  met  their  astonished 
gaze,  and  Leon  invited  them  to  the  wedding. 

"My  friends,"  said  Fougas,  "you  shall  see  unde- 
ceived Nature  bless  the  chains  of  Love." 


CHAPTER  XX. 

A  THUNDERBOLT  FKOM  A  CLEAR  SKY. 

"  Mlle.  Virginie  Sambucco  has  the  honor  to  announce  tc  you 
the  marriage  of  Mile.  Clementine  Sambucco,  her  niece,  to  M.  Leon 
Renault,  civil  engineer. 

"  M.  and  Mme.  Renault  have  the  honor  to  announce  to  you  the 
marriage  of  M.  Leon  Renault,  their  son,  to  Mile.  Clementine 
Sambucco ; 

"  And  invite  you  to  be  present  at  the  nuptial  benediction  which 
will  be  given  them  on  the  11th  of  September,  1859,  in  the  church 
of  Saint  Maxcence,  in  their  parish,  at  eleven  o'clock  precisely.  " 

Fotjgas  absolutely  insisted  that  his  name  should 
figure  on  the  cards.  They  had  all  the  trouble  in  the 
world  to  cure  him  of  this  whim.  Mme  Renault  lec- 
tured him  two  full  hours.  She  told  him  that  in  the 
eyes  of  society,  as  well  as  in  the  eyes  of  the  law,  Cle- 
mentine was  the  granddaughter  of  M.  Langevin ;  that, 
moreover,  M.  Langevin  had  acted  very  liberally  in 
legitimizing  by  marriage,  a  daughter  that  was  not  his 
own ;  finally,  that  the  publication  of  such  a  family 
secret  would  be  an  outrage  against  the  sanctity  of 
the  grave  and  would  tarnish  the  memory  of  poor 
Clementine  Pichon.     The  Colonel  answered  with  the 


THE    MAX    WITH    THE    BROKEN    EAR.  237 

warmth  of  a  young  man,  and  the  obstinacy  of  an 
old  one : 

"  Nature  has  her  rights ;  they  are  anterior  to  the 
conventions  of  society,  and  a  thousand  times  more 
exalted.  The  honor  of  her  I  called  my  iEgle,  is 
dearer  to  me  than  all  the  treasures  of  the  world,  and 
I  would  cleave  the  soul  of  any  rash  being  who  should 
attempt  to  tarnish  it.  In  yielding  to  the  ardor  of 
my  vows,  she  but  conformed  to  the  custom  of  a  great 
epoch  when  the  uncertainty  of  life  and  the  constant 
existence  of  war  simplified  all  formalities.  And  in 
conclusion,  I  do  not  wish  that  my  grandchildren,  yet 
to  be  born,  should  be  ignorant  that  the  source  of 
their  blood  is  in  the  veins  of  Fougas.  Your  Lange- 
vin  is  but  an  intruder  who  covertly  slipped  into  my 
family.  A  commissary!  It's  almost  a  sutler!  I 
spurn  under  foot  the  ashes  of  Langevin  !  " 

His  obstinacy  would  not  yield  to  the  arguments 
of  Mine.  Renault,  but  it  succumbed  to  the  entreaties 
of* Clementine.  The  young  Creole  twisted  him  around 
her  finger  with  irresistible  grace. 

"  My  good  Grandpa  this,  my  pretty  little  Grand- 
pa that ;  my  old  baby  of  a  Grandpa,  we'll  send  you 
off  to  college  if  you're  not  reasonable ! " 

She  used  to  seat  herself  familiarly  on  Fougas' 
knee,  and  give  him  little  love  pats  on  the  cheeks. 
The  Colonel  would  assume  the  gruffest  possible  voice, 
and  then  his  heart  would  overflow  with  tenderness, 
and  he  would  cry  like  a  child. 

These   familiarities   added   nothing  to  the   hap- 


238  THE    MAX    WITH 

piness  of  Leon  Renault ;  I  even  think  that  they 
slightly  tempered  his  joy.  Yet  he  certainly  did  not 
doubt  either  the  love  of  his  betrothed  or  the  honor 
of  Fougas.  He  was  forced  to  admit  that  between  a 
grandfather  and  his  granddaughter  such  little 
liberties  are  natural  and  proper  and  could  justly 
offend  no  one.  But  the  situation  was  so  new  and  so 
unusual  that  he  needed  a  little  time  to  adapt  his 
feelings  to  it,  and  forget  his  chagrin.  This  grand- 
father, for  whom  he  had  paid  five-hundred  francs, 
whose  ear  he  had  broken,  for  whom  he  had  bought 
a  burial-place  in  the  Fontainebleau  cemetery :  this 
ancestor  younger  than  himself,  whom  he  had  seen 
drunk,  whom  he  had  found  agreeable,  then  dangerous, 
then  insupportable :  this  venerable  head  of  the  family 
who  had  begun  by  demanding  Clementine's  hand  and 
ended  by  pitching  his  future  grandson  into  the 
heliotropes,  could  not  all  at  once  obtain  unmingled 
respect  and  unreserved  affection. 

M.  and  Mme.  Renault  exhorted  their  son  to  sub- 
mission and  deference.  They  represented  M.  Fougas 
to  him  as  a  relative  who  ought  to  be  treated  with 
consideration. 

"  A  few  days  of  patience !  "  said  the  good  mother. 
"  He  will  not  stay  with  us  long ;  he  is  a  soldier  and 
can't  live  out  of  the  army  any  better  than  a  fish  out 
of  water." 

But  Leon's  parents,  in  the  bottom  of  their  hearts, 
held  a  bitter  remembrance  of  so  many  pangs  and 
mortifications.     Fougas  had  been  the  scourge  of  the 


THE    BROKEN   EAR.  239 

family ;  the  wounds  which  he  had  made  could  not 
heal  over  in  a  clay.  Even  Gothon  bore  hinx  ill  will 
without  confessing  it.  She  heaved  great  sighs  while 
preparing  for  the  wedding  festivities  at  Mile.  Sam- 
bucco's. 

"  Ah  !  my  poor  Celestin  ! "  said  she  to  her  aco- 
lyte. "  What  a  little  rascal  of  a  grandfather  we're 
going  to  have  to  be  sure  !  " 

The  only  person  who  was  perfectly  at  ease  was 
Fougas.  He  had  passed  the  sponge  over  his  pranks ; 
out  of  all  the  evil  he  had  done,  he  retained  no  ill 
will  against  any  one.  Very  paternal  with  Clemen- 
tine, very  gracious  with  M.  and  Mme.  Eenault,  he 
evinced  for  Leon  the  most  frank  and  cordial  friend- 
ship. 

"  My  dear  boy,"  said  he  to  him,  "  I  have  studied 
you,  I  know  you,  and  I  love  you  thoroughly;  you 
deserve  to  be  happy,  and  you  shall  be.  You  shall 
soon  see  that  in  buying  me  for  twenty-five  napo- 
leons, you  didn't  make  a  bad  bargain.  If  gratitude 
were  banished  from  the  universe,  it  would  find  a  last 
abiding  place  in  the  heart  of  Fougas  !  " 

Three  days  before  the  marriage,  M.  Bonnivet  in- 
formed the  family  that  the  colonel  had  come  into  his 
office  to  ask  for  a  conference  about  the  contract. 
He  had  scarcely  cast  his  eyes  on  the  sheet  of  stamp- 
ed paper,  when  Rrrrip  !  it  was  in  pieces  in  the  fire- 
place. 

"Mister  Note-scratcher,"  he  said,  "do  me  the 
honor  of  beginning  your  chef-d'oeuvre  over  again. 


240  THE    MAN    WITH 

The  granddaughter  of  Fougas  does  not  marry  with 
an  annuity  of  eight  thousand  francs.  Nature  and 
Friendship  give  her  a  million.     Here  it  is  ! " 

Thereupon  he  took  from  his  pocket  a  hank  check 
for  a  million,  paced  the  study  proudly,  making  his 
boots  creak,  and  threw  a  thousand-franc  note  on  a 
clerk's  desk,  crying  in  his  clearest  tones  : 

"  Children  of  the  Law !  Here's  something  to 
drink  the  health  of  the  Emperor  and  the  Grand 
Army  with  ! " 

The  Renault  family  strongly  remonstrated  against 
this  liberality.  Clementine,  on  being  told  of  it  by 
her  intended,  had  a  long  discussion,  in  the  pi'esence 
of  Mile.  Sambuccor  with  the  young  and  terrible 
grandpapa;  she  tried  to  impress  upon  him  that  he 
was  but  twenty-four  years  old,  that  he  would  be 
getting  married  some  day,  and  that  his  property  be- 
longed to  his  future  family. 

"  I  do  not  wish,"  said  she,  "  that  your  children 
should  accuse  me  of  having  robbed  them.  Keep 
your  millions  for  my  little  uncles  and  aunts  !" 

But  for  once,  Fougas  would  not  yield  an  inch. 

"  Are  you  mocking  me  ?"  he  said  to  Clementine. 
"Do  you  think  that  I  will  be  guilty  of  the  folly  of 
marrying  now  ?  I  do  not  promise  you  to  live  like  a 
monk  of  La  Trappe,  but  at  my  age,  a  man  put  to- 
gether like  I  am  can  find  enough  to  talk  to  around 
the  garrisons  without  marrying  anybody.  Mars 
does  not  borrow  the  torch  of  Hymen  to  light  the 
Httle  aberrations  of  Venus!'    Why  does  man  ever 


THE   BROKEN  EAR.  241 

tie  himself  in  matrimonial  bonds  ? For  the 

sake  of  being  a  father.  I  am  one  already,  in  the 
comparative  degree,  and  in  a  year,  if  our  brave  Leon 
does  a  man's  part,  I  shall  assume  the  superlative. 
Great-grandfather!  That's  a  lovely  position  for  a 
trooper  twenty-five  years  old  !  At  forty-five  or  fifty, 
I  shall  be  great-great-grandfather.  At  seventy  .  .  . 
.  .  .  the  French  language  has  no  more  words  to  ex- 
press what  I  shall  become  !  But  we  can  order  one 
from  those  babblers  of  the  Academy !  Are  you 
afraid  that  I'll  want  for  anything  in  my  old  age  ?  I 
have  my  pay,  in  the  first  place,  and  my  officer's 
cross.  When  I  reach  the  years  of  Anchises  or  ISTes- 
tor,  I  will  have  my  half-pay.  Add  to  all  this  the 
two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  francs  from  the  king 
of  Prussia,  and  you  shall  see  that  I  have  not  only 
bread,  but  all  essential  fixings  in  the  bargain,  up  to 
the  close  of  my  career.  Moreover,  I  have  a  perpetual 
grant,  for  which  your  husband  has  paid  in  advance, 
in  the  Fontainebleau  cemetery.  With  all  these  pos- 
sessions, and  simple  tastes,  one  is  sure  not  to  eat  up 
one's  resources ! " 

Willing  or  unwilling,  they  had  to  concede  all  he 
required  and  accept  his  million.  This  act  of  gene- 
rosity made  a  great  commotion  in  the  town,  and  the 
name  of  Fougas,  already  celebrated  in  so  many  ways, 
acquired  a  new  prestige.  The  signature  of  the  bride 
was  attested  by  the  Marshal  the  Duke  of  Solferino 
and  the  illustrious  Karl  Nibor,  who  but  a  few  days 
before  had  been  elected  to  the  Academy  of  Sciences. 
11 


242  THE   MAIS    WITH 

Leon  modestly  retained  the  old  friends  whom  he  had 
long  since  chosen,  M.  Audret  the  architect,  and  M. 
Bonnivet  the  notary. 

The  Mayor  was  brilliant  in  his  new  scarf.  The 
cure  addressed  to  the  young  couple  an  affecting  allo- 
cution on  the  inexhaustible  goodness  of  Providence, 
which  still  occasionally  performs  a  miracle  for  the 
benefit  of  true  Christians.  Fougas,  who  had  not 
discharged  his  religious  duties  since  1801,  soaked 
two  handkerchiefs  with  tears. 

"  One  must  always  part  from  those  nearest  the 
heart,"  said  he  on  going  out  of  church.  "  But  God 
and  I  are  made  to  understand  each  other!  After 
all,  what  is  God  but  a  little  more  universal  Napo- 
leon !  " 

A  Pantagruelic  feast,  presided  over  by  Mile.  Vir- 
ginie  Sambucco  in  a  dress  of  puce-colored  silk,  fol- 
lowed immediately  upon  the  marriage  ceremony. 
Twenty-four  persons  were  present  at  this  family  fete, 
among  others  the  new. colonel  of  the  23d  and  M.  du 
Marnet,  who  was  almost  well  of  his  wound. 

Fougas  took  up  his  napkin  with  a  certain  anxiety. 
He  hoped  that  the  Marshal  had  brought  his  brevet 
as  brigadier  general.  His  expressive  countenance 
manifested  lively  disappointment  at  the  empty  plate. 

The  Duke  of  Solferino,  who  had  been  seated  at 
the  place  of  honor,  noticed  this  physiognomical  dis- 
play, and  said  aloud : 

"  Don't  be  impatient,  my  old  comrade  !  I  know 
what  you  miss ;    it  was  not  my  fault  that  the  fhU 


THE   BROKEN   EAK.  243 

was  not  complete.  The  minister  of  war  was  out 
when  I  dropped  in  on  my  way  here.  I  was  told, 
however,  at  the  department,  that  your  affair  was 
kept  in  suspense  by  a  technical  question,  but  that 
you  would  receive  a  letter  from  the  office  within 
twenty-four  hours." 

"  Devil  take  the  documents  !  "  cried  Fougas. 
"  They've  got  them  all,  from  my  birth-certificate, 
down  to  the  copy  of  my  brevet  colonel's  commission. 
You'll  find  out  that  they  want  a  certificate  of  vac- 
cination or  some  such  six-penny  shinplaster  !  " 

"  Oh !  Patience,  young  man !  You've  time 
enough  to  wait.  It's  not  such  a  case  as  mine : 
without  the  Italian  campaign,  which  gave  me  a 
chance  to  snatch  the  baton,  they  would  have  slit 
my  ear  like  a  condemned  horse,  under  the  empty 
pretext  that  I  was  sixty-five  years  old.  You're  not 
yet  twenty-five,  and  you're  on  the  point  of  becoming 
a  brigadier :  the  Emperor  promised  it  to  you  before 
me.  In  four  or  five  years  from  now,  you'll  have 
the  gold  stars,  unless  some  bad  luck  interferes. 
After  which  you'll  need  nothing  but  the  command 
of  an  army  and  a  successful  campaign  to  make  you 
Marshal  of  France  and  Senator,  which  may  nothing 
prevent !  " 

"  Yes,"  responded  Fougas ;  "  I'll  reach  it.  Not 
only  because  I  am  the  youngest  of  all  the  officers  of 
my  grade,  and  because  I  have  been  in  the  mightiest 
of  wars  and  followed  the  lessons  of  the  master  of 
Bellona's  fields,  but  above  all  because  Destiny  haa 


244  THE    MAN    WITH 

marked  me  with  her  sign.  Why  did  the  bulleta 
spare  me  in  more  than  twenty  battles  ?  Why  have 
I  sped  over  oceans  of  steel  and  fire  without  my  skin 
receiving  a  scratch  ?  It  is  because  I  have  a  star,  as 
lie  had.  His  was  the  grander,  it  is  true,  but  it  went 
out  at  St.  Helena,  while  mine  is  burning  in  Heaven 
still !  If  Doctor  Nibor  resuscitated  me  with  a  few 
drops  of  warm  water,  it  was  because  my  destiny  was 
not  yet  accomplished.  If  the  will  of  the  French  peo- 
ple has  re-established  the  imperial  throne,  it  was  to 
furnish  me  a  series  of  opportunities  for  my  valor, 
during  the  conquest  of  Europe  which  we  are  about 
to  recommence !  Vive  VEmpereur,  and  me  too  !  I 
shall  be  duke  or  prince  in  less  than  ten  years,  and 

why  not  ?     One  might  try  to  be  at  ro]l-call 

on  the  day  when  crowns  are  distributed  !  In  that 
case,  I  will  adopt  Clementine's  oldest  son :  we  will 
call  him  Pierre  Victor  II.,  and  he  shall  succeed  me 
on  the  throne  just  as  Louis  XV.  succeeded  his  grand- 
father Louis  XIV. ! " 

As  he  was  finishing  this  wondei-ful  speech,  a  gen- 
darme  entered  the  dining  room,  asked  for  Colonel 
Fougas,  and  handed  him  a  letter  from  the  Minister 
of  War. 

"  Gad  ! "  cried  the  Marshal,  "  it  would  be  pleas- 
ant to  have  your  promotion  arrive  at  the  end  of  such 
a  discourse.  For  once,  we  would  pi-ostrate  oui-selves 
before  your  star !  The  Magi  kings  would  be  no- 
where compared  with  us." 

"  Read  it  yourself,"  said  he  to_the  Marshal,  hold- 


THE    BB0KEK   EAE.  2  45 

ing  out  to  him  the  great  sheet  of  paper.  "  But  no ! 
I  have  always  looked  Death  in  the  face ;  I  will.not 
turn  my  eyes  away  from  this  paper  thunder  if  it  is 
killing  me. 

"  Colonel  : 

"  In  preparing  the  Imperial  decree  which  elevated 
you  to  the  rank  of  brigadier  general,  I  found  myself 
in  the  presence  of  an  insurmountable  obstacle  :  viz., 
your  certificate  of  birth.  It  appears  from  that  docu- 
ment that  you  were  born  in  1789,  and  that  you 
have  already  passed  your  seventieth  year.  Now, 
the  limit  of  age  being  fixed  at  sixty  years  for 
colonels,  sixty-two  for  bi'igadier  generals  and  sixty- 
five  for  generals  of  division,  I  find  myself  under 
the  absolute  necessity  of  placing  you  upon  the  re- 
tired list  with  the  rank  of  colonel.  I  know,  Mon- 
sieur, how  little  this  measure  is  justified  by  your  ap- 
parent age,  and  I  sincerely  regret  that  France  should 
be  deprived  of  the  services  of  a  man  of  your  capacity 
and  merit.  Moreover,  it  is  certain  that  an  exception 
in  your  favor  would  arouse  no  dissatisfaction  in  the 
army  and  would  meet  with  nothing  but  sympathetic 
approval.  But  the  law  is  express,  and  the  Emperor 
himself  cannot  violate  or  elude  it.  The  impossibility 
resulting  from  it  is  so  absolute  that  if,  in  your  ardor 
to  serve  the  country,  you  were  willing  to  lay  aside 
your  epaulettes  for  the  sake  of  beginning  upon  a 
new  career,  your  enlistment  could  not  be  received 
in  a  single  regiment  of  the  army.     It  is  fortunate, 


240  THE   MAN   WITL 

Monsieur,  that  the  Emperor's  government  has  been 
able,  to  furnish  you  the  means  of  subsistence  in  ob- 
taining from  His  Royal  Highness  the  Regent  of 
Prussia  the  indemnity  which  was  due  you ;  for  there 
is  not  even  an  office  in  the  civil  administration  in 
which,  even  by  special  favor,  a  man  seventy  years 
old  could  be  placed.  You  will  very  justly  object 
that  the  laws  and  regulations  now  in  force  date 
from  a  period  when  experiments  on  the  revivifica- 
tion of  men  had  not  yet  met  with  favorable  results. 
But  the  law  is  made  for  the  mass  of  mankind,  and 
cannot  take  any  account  of  exceptions.  Undoubt- 
edly attention  would  be  directed  to  its  amendment 
if  cases  of  resuscitation  were  to  present  themselves 
in  sufficient  number. 

"  Accept,  &c." 

A  gloomy  silence  succeeded  the  reading.  The 
Mene  mene  teJcel  xipharsin  of  the  oriental  legends 
could  not  have  more  completely  produced  the  effect 
of  thunderbolts.  The  gendarme  was  still  there, 
standing  in  the  position  of  the  soldier  without  arms, 
await' ng  Fougas'  receipt.  The  Colonel  called  for 
pen  and  ink,  signed  the  paper,  gave  the  gendarme 
drink-money,  and  said  to  him  with  ill-suppressed 
emotion  : 

"  You  are  happy,  you  are!    No  one  prevents  you' 
from  serving  the  country.     Well,"  added  he,  turn- 
ing  toward   the   Marshal,    "  what   do   you   say  to 
that  ?  " 


THE    BROKEN    EAR.  247 

"  What  would  you  have  me  say,  my  poor  old 
boy  ?  It  breaks  me  all  up.  There's  no  use  in  argu- 
ing against  the  law;  it's  express.  The  stupid  thing 
on  our  parts  was  not  to  think  of  it  sooner.  But  who 
the  Devil  would  have  thought  of  the  retired  list  in 
the  presence  of  such  a  fellow  as  you  are?" 

The  two  colonels  avowed  that  such  an  objection 
would  never  have  entered  their  heads  ;  now  that  it 
had  been  suggested,  however,  they  could  not  see 
what  to  rebut  it  with.  Neither  of  them  would  have 
been  able  to  enlist  Fougas  as  a  private  soldiei*,  de- 
spite his  ability,  his  physical  strength  and  his  ap- 
pearance of  being  twenty-four  years  old. 

"  If  some  one  would  only  kill  me ! "  cried  Fou- 
gas. "I  can't  set  myself  to  weighing  sugar  or  plant- 
ing cabbages.  It  was  in  the  career  of  arms  that  I 
took  my  first  steps;  I  must  continue  in  it  or  die. 
What  can  I  do?  What  can  1  become?  Take  ser- 
vice in  some  foreign  army  ?     Never !     The  fate  of 

Moreau  is  still  before  my  eyes Oh  Foi-tune ! 

What  have  I  done  to  thee  that  I  should  be  dashed 
so  low,  when  thou  wast  preparing  to  raise  me  so 
high  ?  " 

Clementine  tried  to  console  him  with  soothing 
words. 

"  You  shall  live  near  us,"  said  she.  "  We  will 
find  you  a  pretty  little  wife,  and  you  can  rear  your 
children.  In  your  leisure  moments  you  can  write 
the  history  of  the  great  o'eeds  you  have  done.  You 
will  want  for  nothing :  youth,  health,  fortune,  familv. 


248  THE   MAN   "WITH 

all  that  makes  up  the  happiness  of  men,  is  yours» 
Why  then  should  you  not  be  happy  ?  " 

Leon  and  his  parents  talked  with  him  in  the  same 
way.  Everything  appertaining  to  the  festive  occa- 
sion was  forgotten  in  the  presence  of  an  affliction  so 
real  and  a  dejection  so  profound. 

He  roused  himself  little  by  little,  and  even  sang, 
at  dessert,  a  little  song  which  he  had  prepared  for 
the  occasion. 

Here's  a  health  to  these  fortunate  lovers 

Who,  on  this  thrice  blessed  day, 
Have  singed  with  the  torch  of  chasre  Hymen, 

The  wings  with  which  ( 'upid  doth  stray. 
And  now,  little  volatile  boy-god, 

You  must  keep  yourself  quiet  at  home — 
Enchained  there  by  this  happy  marriage 

Where  Genius  and  Beauty  are  one. 

He'll  make  it,  henceforth,  his  endeavor 

To  keep  Pleasure  in  Loyalty's  power, 
Forgetting  his  naughty  old  habit 

Of  roaming  from  flower  to  flower. 
And  Clementine  makes  the  task  easy, 

For  roses  spring  up  at  her  smile  : 
From  thence  the  young  rascal  can  steal  them 

As  well  as  in  Veuus's  isle. 

The  verses  were  loudly  applauded,  but  the  poor 
Colonel  smiled  sadly,  talked  but  little,  and  did  not 
get  fuddled  at  all.  The  man  with  the  broken  ear 
could  not  at  all  console  himself  for  having  a  slit  ear.1" 
He  took  part  in  the  various  diversions  of  the  day, 


THE    BROKEN    EAR.  249 

but  was  no  longer  the  brilliant  companion  who  had 
Inspired  everything  with  his  impetuous  gayety. 

The  Marshal  buttonholed  him  during  the  evening 
and  said  :  "  What  are  you  thinking  about  ?  " 

"  I'm  thinking  of  the  old  messmates  who  were 
happy  enough  to  fall  at  Waterloo  with  their  faces 
toward  the  enemy.  That  old  fool  of  a  Dutchman 
who  preserved  me  for  posterity,  did  me  but  a  sorry 
service.  I  tell  you,  Leblanc,  a  man  ought  to  live  in 
his  own  day.     Later  is  too  late." 

"  Oh,  pshaw,  Fougas,  don't  talk  nonsense !  There's 
nothing  desperate  in  the  case.  Devil  take  it !  I'll 
go  to  see  the  Emperor  to-morrow.  The  matter  shall 
be  looked  into.  It  will  all  be  set  straight.  Men 
like  you  !  Why  France  hasn't  got  them  by  the 
dozen  that  she  should  flino-  them  among;  the  soiled 
linen." 

"  Thanks  !  You're  a  good  old  boy,  and  a  true 
one.  There  were  five  hundred  thousand  of  us,  of 
the  same,  same  sort,  in  1812;  there  are  but  two  left; 
say,  rather,  one  and  a  half." 

About  ten  o'clock  in  the  evening,  M.  Rollon,  M. 
du  Marnet  and  Fougas  accompanied  the  Marshal  to 
the  cars.  Fougas  em  braced  his  comrade  and  prorn- 
ised  him  to  be  of  good  cheer.  Alter  the  train  left, 
the  three  colonels  went  back  to  town  on  foot.  In 
passing  M.  Rollon's  house,  Fougas  said  to  his  suc- 
cessor : 

"  You're  not  very  hospitable  to-night ;  you  don't 
even  offer  us  a  pony  of  that  good  Andaye  brandy  ! " 
11* 


250  THE    MAN    WITH 

"  I  thought  you  were  not  in  drinking  trim,"  said 
M.  Rollon.  "  You  didn't  take  anything  in  your  coffee 
or  afterwards.     But  come  up  !  " 

"  My  thirst  has  come  back  with  a  vengeance." 

"  That's  a  good  symptom." 

He  drank  in  a  melancholy  fashion,  and  scarcely 
wet  his  lips  in  his  glass.  He  stopped  a  little  while 
before  the  flag,  took  hold  of  the  staff,  spread  out  the 
silk,  counted  the  holes  that  cannon  balls  and  bullets 
had  made  in  it,  and  could  not  repress  his  tears. 
"  Positively,"  said  he,  "  the  brandy  has  taken  me  in 
the  throat ;  I'm  not  a  man  to-night.  Good  evening 
gentlemen." 

"  Hold  on  !     We'll  go  back  with  you." 

"  Oh,  my  hotel  is  only  a  step." 

"It's  all  the  same.  But  what's  your  idea  in 
staying  at  a  hotel  when  you  have  two  houses  in  town 
at  your  service  ?  " 

*'  On  the  strength  of  that,  I  am  going  to  move  to- 
morrow." 

The  next  morning,  about  eleven  o'clock,  the  happy 
Leon  was  at  his  toilet  when  a  telegram  was  brought 
to  him.  He  opened  it  wnthout  noticing  that  it  was 
addressed  to  M.  Fougas,  and  uttered  a  cry  of  joy. 
Here  is  the  laconic  message  which  brought  him  so 
much  pleasure : 

"  To  Colonel  Fougas,  Fontainebleau. 

"  Just  left  the  Emperor.     You  to  be  brevet  brigadier  until  some 
thing  better  turns  up.     If  necessary,  corps  legislaiif  \\\\\  amend  law 

"  Leblanc." 


THE   BROKEN    EAR.  251 

Leon  dressed  himself,  ran  to  the  hotel  of  the  blue 
sundial,  and  found  Fougas  dead  in  his  bed. 

It  is  said  in  Fontainebleau,  that  M.  Nibor  made 
an  autopsy,  and  found  that  serious  disorders  had  been 
produced  by  desiccation.  Some  people  are  never- 
theless satisfied  that  Fougas  committed  suicide.  It  is 
certain  that  Master  Bounivet  received,  by  the  penny 
post,  a  sort  of  a  will,  expressed  thus : 

"I  leave  my  heart  to  my  country,  my  memory  to  natural 
affection,  my  example  to  the  army,  my  hate  to  perfidious  Albion, 
fifty  thousand  francs  to  Gothon,  and  two  hundred  thousand  to  the 
23d  of  the  line.     And  forever  Vive  VEmpereur  I 

"  Fougas." 

Resuscitated  on  the  17th  of  August,  between 
three  and  four  in  the  afternoon,  he  died  on  the  17th 
of  the  following  month,  at  what  hour  we  shall  never 
know.  His  second  Hie  had  lasted  a  little  less  than 
thirty-one  days.  But  it  is  simple  justice  to  say  that 
he  made  good  use  of  his  time.  He  reposes  in  the 
spot  which  young  Renault  had  bought  for  him.  His 
granddaughter  Clementine  left  off  her  mourning 
about  a  year  since.  She  is  beloved  and  happy,  and 
Leon  wdl  have  nothing  to  reproach  himself  with  if 
she  does  not  have  plenty  of  children. 

Bourdonnel,  August,  1861. 


FINIS. 


NOTES 


TO 


THE    MAN    WITH    THE    BROKEN    EAu 


Note  1,  page  09. — Black  bvMerfiies,  a  French  expression  that 
we  might  tastefully  substitute  for  blue  devils. 

Note  2,  page  72.— 27te  15tli  of  August  is  the  Emperor's 
birthday. 

Note  3,  page  85. —  Centigrade,  of  course. 

Note  4,  page  101. — Fougas'  surprise  is  explained  by  the  well- 
known  fact  that  Napoleon  was  obliged  to  forbid  the  playing  of 
Partant  pour  la  Sgrie  in  his  armies,  on  account  of  the  home-sickncsa 
and  consequent  desertion  it  occasioned. 

Note  5,  page  118. — Jeu  de  Paume  (tennis-court),  is  the  name 
given  to  the  meeting  of  the  ihird-estate  (tiers-Hat)  in  1780,  from 
the  locality  where  it  took  place. 

Note  6,  page  161. — The  English  used  by  the  two  young  noble- 
men is  M.  About's  own.  It  is  certainly  such  English  as  Frenchmen 
,  would  be  apt  to  speak,  and  it  is  as  fair  to  attribute  that  (act  to 
M.  About's  fine  sense  of  the  requirements  of  the  occasion,  as  to 
lack  of  familiarity  with  our  language. 

Note  7,  page  164. — "En  Pekin"  is  the  slang  term  in  the 
French  army  for  in  citizen's  dress. 

Note  8,  page  164. — It  is  not  without  interest  to  note  that 
M.  About  used  the  English  word  gentlemen. 

Note  9,  page  166. —  War  against  tyrants!  Never,  never, 
never  shall  the  Briton  reign  in  France  ! 

Note  10,  page  214. — The  original  here  contains  a  neat  little 


254 

conceit 
lost. 
" beaul 
Lange^ 
Bugges1 
when  1 

Not 
both  tfc 
apostrc 
require 

Not 
Leblan 


1  IllS  DOOR  IS   DLL  Oil  II 1C  litSl 

date  stamped  below 


*ftC"D  LD-URL 


IUN3Q 


Series  470 


good  to  be 
i,  literally 
5/"   Mme. 

agirV  It 
[arguerite, 

tially  used 
in  Fougas' 
i  naturally 

d  Marshal 


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